National Assembly President Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng Samrin called Tuesday for deeper integration as ASEAN members recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In ASEAN, this pandemic has been actively controlled,” he told the opening of a virtual three-day annual meeting of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) chaired by Vietnam.

“While our region is struggling to recover from this crisis, we need to further deepen our regional integration to facilitate the flow of goods, services and people.

“So far ASEAN has managed to maintain its supply chain of goods in response to the essential needs during this critical period.”

Samdech Heng Samrin said Cambodia had “redirected its development strategy based on its comparative and competitive advantages.

“The government is introducing a more people-centered development strategy by prioritising and focusing on agriculture and agro-industry, digital transformation, and domestic tourism,” he said.

Samdech Heng Samrin said the Cambodian parliament upheld ASEAN efforts to promote regional peace, security and stability “as well as the peaceful settlement of disputes based on the principles of international law and diplomacy and avoiding the use of force.”

He said the Cambodian parliament also encouraged young AIPA parliamentarians to participate in all AIPA meetings and with ASEAN youth.

“Young people play significant roles in both national development and in building a prosperous and progressive ASEAN Community,” Samdech Heng Samrin said.

The AIPA General Assembly is being chaired this year by Vietnamese National Assembly Chairwoman H.E. Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.