JAKARTA/VIENTIANE (Bernama-ANTARA): Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) and president of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), Puan Maharani, has handed over the chairmanship of AIPA to Laos, reported ANTARA news agency.
"As the 44th president of AIPA, I hand over the gavel to Laos, as a token of the Lao presidency for the next AIPA session," Maharani said here.
She symbolically handed over the gavel of the AIPA session to the president of the National Assembly of Laos and the Speaker of the Lao parliament, Xaysomphone Phomvihane, as a symbol of the AIPA presidency relay.
The 45th AIPA General Assembly will take place in October 2024 in Laos.
Maharani also handed over the AIPA flag relay as a sign of the handover of the AIPA secretariat from Indonesia to Laos. She expressed the hope that Laos will continue Indonesia's efforts and make the next AIPA General Assembly a success.
"I also appreciate the commitment of all delegations in promoting the spirit of ASEAN unity to address all differences that arise in every discussion at the 44th AIPA General Assembly," she added.
In the meantime, Phomvihane said that the Lao parliament is ready to organise the 45th AIPA by learning from the success of the Indonesian parliament.
"As the host, Indonesia has held the 44th AIPA session very successfully, and Laos is ready to continue this success in the 45th AIPA session in 2024," Phomvihane said after receiving the AIPA presidency relay from Maharani.
The House of Representatives of Indonesia hosted the AIPA session as chair of AIPA for 2023. This was in line with Indonesia's 2023 Asean chairmanship.
Meanwhile 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.”
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. - Bernama/ANTARA
