VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - House Speaker and the 2023 ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) President, Puan Maharani, has expressed the hope that the agreements reached during the 44th AIPA General Assembly will be followed up at the next assembly in Laos.

"The agreements reached at the 44th AIPA Session will be followed up and discussed again. Matters that have not reached an agreement must be discussed again," she said at a press conference after closing the 44th AIPA General Assembly here on Wednesday.

It is also hoped that AIPA will become a bridge that unites the differences between member countries, she said. "So that an agreement can be reached, which will indeed be mutually agreed upon as a joint commitment of ASEAN countries," she added.

Regarding Laos, which will host the next AIPA session in 2024, Maharani said that Indonesia hopes the session will be held before the end of September because there will be a change in the Indonesian parliament after the 2024 elections.

"If (it is held) in October, it will be ahead of the new government in Indonesia. We hope that Indonesia can still actively participate in the 45th AIPA in Laos," she added.

Earlier, Maharani presented the gavel of the AIPA session to the Speaker of the Lao Parliament, Xaysomphone Phomvihane, symbolically handing over the AIPA chairmanship to Laos.

This was done after the submission of a report regarding the results of the commissions' meetings at AIPA, which was followed by the signing of a joint communique by representatives of AIPA countries.

Separately, Maharani said that the House, which is holding the AIPA presidency this year, will lend full support to Laos' chairmanship of the 45th AIPA in 2024.

"I hope that Laos will successfully hold the AIPA General Assembly next year," she added after holding a bilateral meeting with Phomvihane at the House Building here on Wednesday.

The House, she added, is also ready to assist in the implementation of the 45th AIPA General Assembly through mentoring and sharing experiences.

"I declare the readiness of the House to assist in the implementation of the 45th AIPA General Assembly in 2024 in Laos. I hope that the implementation of the 45th General Assembly in Laos will adopt the continuation of the 44th AIPA theme," she said.

The 44th General Session of AIPA was one of the culminations of the House's chairmanship of the AIPA, in line with Indonesia's 2023 ASEAN chairmanship.

The 44th General Assembly of AIPA, which was held in Jakarta from Monday (August 7, 2023) to Wednesday (August 9) was themed "Responsive Parliaments for a Stable and Prosperous ASEAN."

Besides 9 ASEAN members, except Myanmar, the 44th General Assembly of AIPA was also attended by 18 observer and guest countries, as well as representatives from 9 international organizations. The total number of delegates who attended the general assembly was 568. (Antaranews)