HANOI, VIETNAM – Vice Speaker Esmond B. Moses headed a delegation from the Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia to the 26th annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26) in Hanoi, Vietnam from January 18-21, 2018.
Under the umbrella theme of “Parliamentary Partnership, Peace, Innovation and Sustainable Development” the regional meeting adopted 14 working resolutions and the Hanoi Declaration. The Hanoi Declaration marked the 25th anniversary of the regional parliamentary forum and defined a new vision for the Asia-Pacific parliamentary partnership as it charted out the course of development for the Forum towards 2030.
A major achievement of the APPF-26 as highlighted in the Hanoi Declaration was the amendment to the forum’s rules to allow the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians to become a permanent feature of the APPF annual meetings.
The 14 resolutions touched on working areas for the regional parliaments on issues that included promoting gender equality, economic growth and free trade, and joint actions on climate change response; supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the digital age; parliamentary diplomacy for peace, security and prosperity in the region and in the world, among other issues.
The meeting concluded with the selection of Cambodia to host the forum’s 27th annual meeting .
Headed by the Vice Speaker, the FSM Congress delegation to the 26th APFF meeting in Vietnam included Senator Joseph J. Urusemal and Senator Robson U. Romolow with Staff Attorney Stephanie Ritland.
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