Asia-Pacific lawmakers vow to strengthen cooperation, common development

QUITO -- Legislators from Asia-Pacific nations on Wednesday vowed to strengthen cooperation and jointly facilitate common development in the region.

The pledge was made at the end of the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) in Ecuador's capital city of Quito.

The four-day conference, attended by 187 delegates from 17 countries, adopted a joint communique and 18 resolutions covering various issues such as disaster prevention, climate change, gender equality, cyber security, as well as combating cross-border organized crime and terrorism.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Gabriela Rivadeneira, president of Ecuador's National Assembly and chair of the annual event, said it's essential to generate, among member nations of the forum, "even closer inter-parliamentary dialogue based on mutual recognition and solidarity."

"Sharing the experiences and strengthening the ties of our parliaments will allow us to enrich our understanding of common problems," she said.

Zhang Baowen, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China, led the Chinese delegation in the forum. He called for closer inter-parliamentary cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region in his keynote speech at the meeting.

Zhang said that all member countries should cherish the hard-won peaceful environment and make due efforts to maintain regional peace and stability by advocating a new security concept, promoting regional economic integration, abiding by international law and basic principles of international relations, and building enduring mechanism for peace.

Established in Tokyo in 1993, the forum aims to promote greater cooperation among legislative bodies in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Canadian city of Vancouver will host the 24th annual meeting of the APPF in 2016.