“Wan Nor” leads MPs and Senators to the 45th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly

Wan Nor" leads a team of MPs and Senators to visit the Lao PDR to attend the 45th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, with the Thai Parliament supporting the establishment of a committee to study drug problems and transnational crimes. Mr. Van Muhammad Noor Matha, President of the National Assembly and Speaker of the House of Representatives, led a delegation of Thai parliamentarians, along with Mr. Thaopipob Limjittrakarn, Bangkok MP, Prachachon Party, and Mr. Pichan Pornsiriprathan, Senator, to travel to Vientiane Capital, Lao People's Democratic Republic, to attend the 45th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly during 17-23 October 2024. In the morning, there will be a meeting of the Executive Committee of the APA, which will include discussions and approval of various agendas related to the meeting. At the same time, there will be a meeting of women political leaders in parallel with the APA General Meeting. In addition, there will be sub-meetings such as the Committee on Political, Economic and Social Af fairs, as well as the meeting of women parliamentarians of the APA and the meeting of the APA Youth Parliamentarians. After the meeting of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Executive Committee, the President of the Parliament revealed that the meeting discussed in a friendly atmosphere and agreed with the proposed topics, such as discussions with 19 observer countries, the third consultation between the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and ASEAN, and the establishment of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Working Group on Appropriate Mechanisms to Resolve Problems in Myanmar. After that, the meeting forwarded the topics that were considered and agreed to for the first plenary meeting for the meeting to approve and include them on the agenda for further consideration of details. For Thailand, it is another country that has always given importance to solving the drug problem. The Thai Executive Committee discussed the topic of establishing a study committee on the transformation of the AIPACODD mee ting into the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Advisory Council on Transnational Crime (AIPA-ACT). Thailand did not object to the proposal to establish a study committee because it is confident that this transformation will enable AIPA to better deal with complex and interconnected transnational crimes. However, it was noted that AIPA-ACT must not neglect the drug problem, which is a major problem in the region that has serious social and economic impacts and should continue to be an important issue in the AIPA-ACT framework. 'The meeting agreed with what Thailand proposed, regarding drug prevention. In the future, we will work more broadly. Drugs are a major problem for the government. In addition, there are transnational crimes such as call center gangs, money laundering, and human trafficking. ASEAN is therefore alert, and the ASEAN Secretary-General has proposed this, which meets the needs of members of parliament, especially the Thai government, who want to solve these issues. I really want them to st art working from now on. However, the meeting agreed that for thoroughness, the mission should be clear, including the cost of operations of this committee. Therefore, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Secretariat should think of a clear framework and powers. The next meeting in Malaysia will consider this matter for approval in the establishment process.' Then there will be a bilateral discussion with the President of the Brunei Parliament and the President of the Singapore Parliament to discuss cooperation in politics, society, economy and especially tourism, in which Thailand is a country that has received attention from the region. In the evening, there will be a dinner hosted by the Vice President of the National Assembly of the Lao People's Democratic Republic at the Ladsawang Wanda Vista Hotel. Source: Thai News Agency