The 25th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) opened here on Monday, focusing on various regional issues.

It is the first time for Cambodia to host such meeting which became the eighth full member of AIPO at the 20th General Assemblyin Manila in 1999.

More than 300 delegates took part in the four-day meeting. The assembly, which includes Brunei and Myanmar as special observers, is expected to discuss various regional issues and the plans for aregional security community, tourism and various social matters.

ASEAN lawmakers are also scheduled to hold dialogues with lawmakers from outside Southeast Asia including China, Europe, Japan, South Korea and Russia. Delegates from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea are also scheduled to take part, along with the representatives of the ASEAN secretariat and the International Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Dialogues with observers from outside ASEAN are expected to cover regional security and economic issues including trade as well as the environment, information technology and women's role in decision making.

A separate meeting of Women Parliamentarians of AIPO (WAIPO) was held on Sept. 12. which discussed efforts to enhance women's economic security and the role of parliaments in combating the trafficking of women and children in Southeast Asia.

Source: Xinhua