Sotto to chair IPU’s Asia-Pacific Group in 2020

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III will become chairman of the Asia-Pacific Group of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Switzerland and Rwanda in 2020.

In a statement on Friday, Sotto will replace politician Asad Qaiser, Speaker of National Assembly of Pakistan.

Sotto headed the Philippine delegation in the 141st IPU Assembly held in Belgrade, Serbia on October 13 to October 17.

The 142nd Assembly is set in Geneva, Switzerland from April 16 to April 20, 2020 while the 143rd Assembly will be held in Kigali, Rwanda from October 11 to October 15, 2020.

On Thursday, Sotto presided over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) + 3 meeting, which is part of the Asia-Pacific Group, to select nominees who would replace outgoing parliamentarians during the 141st Assembly of the IPU.

The ASEAN + 3 consists of ASEAN countries including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, China and Korea.

Based on its website, the IPU’s Asia Pacific Group is tasked to “prepare and coordinate positions on key issues on the agenda at each Assembly, review vacancies in the committees and groups, consult among their members and propose candidates.”

The IPU is a group of foreign parliamentarians committed to promoting democracy, human rights, equality and peace through political dialogue and concrete action.