By Kenny Teng Khoon Hock
BANGKOK, 15 Jan (Bernama) -- The 46th ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) General Assembly, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, as the ASEAN Chair for 2025, has received strong support from Thailand, said Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Johari Abdul.
Johari, who began his official tour of ASEAN member countries in Thailand, stated that his counterpart in Thailand had expressed confidence and support for Malaysia as the ASEAN Chair.
“The Thai Speaker strongly supports our efforts to strengthen ties among ASEAN members, and they will be sending a large delegation to attend the meetings in Malaysia," he told Bernama on Wednesday.
He said Malaysia will be hosting five key meetings leading up to the AIPA General Assembly in September in Kuala Lumpur.
Earlier, Johari held meetings with the President of the National Assembly and Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand, Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, as well as the President of the Thai Senate, Mongkol Surajja, at the Thai Parliament.
Johari explained that the purpose of the ASEAN tour is to pay tribute to member countries and to take the opportunity to outline Malaysia's vision for its chairmanship.
“Through this tour, we aim to clarify the path forward, gather suggestions from member countries, and demonstrate Malaysia's respect for all parties," he said.
He also emphasised that this meeting provides a good platform for discussions and for receiving valuable suggestions from member countries
“If there are any issues, we can resolve them at an early stage before differences of opinion arise and potentially affect the larger meeting later," noted Johari.
He stated that this ASEAN tour also reflects Malaysia's commitment to further strengthen ties with member countries, in line with the goal of making the region more united, resilient, inclusive, and competitive on the global stage.
Following his visit to Thailand, Johari will travel to Cambodia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
"I plan to visit all member countries in March before the first AIPA meeting in April," he added.
-- BERNAMA
