After two days of working, the fifth ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA Caucus 5) that focused on green growth and poverty alleviation to achieve common sustainable development ended in Da Lat City on May 13. The meeting, with the participation of more than 60 delegates, agreed that sustainable development is one of the common targets. Delegates at the meeting also agreed that ASEAN parliamentarians have played an important role in making policies and incorporating international commitment into their countries’ laws with a view to creating a harmony for the ASEAN legal system.

AIPA Caucus 5 emphasized the importance of enhancing legislative capacity in the field and praised Vietnam’s proposal to establish an ASEAN Green Growth Centre.

Participants also discussed poverty reduction policy direction progress and coordination in the implementation of programs and policies designed to reduce poverty, as well as national strategies during the economic recession to help poor people.

Opinions and proposals from delegates at the meeting will be summated to the 34th AIPA General Assembly in Brunei for approval, aiming to promote sustainable development, thereby contributing to the successful establishment of an ASEAN Community, said Tran Van Hang, Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly’s Committee for External Affairs. Speaking at the event on May 12, Vietnam National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong said one of the big challenges for ASEAN to realize the UN Millennium Development Goals is to effectively address poverty reduction and promote growth measures alongside protecting natural resources and the environment. “I believe that the meeting today will make practical recommendations concerning the issues to be submitted to the upcoming 34th AIPA General Assembly for consideration,” she said. AIPA Caucus, which is held in rotation among AIPA member countries, aims to create a regular forum for its member countries, special observers as well as between AIPA and ASEAN. The sixth caucus will be held in April or May 2014 in Brunei.