FILE PHOTO: Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri. Joseph Vidal / Senate PRIB
MANILA, Philippines — After nearly three decades, the Philippines will once again host the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri announced Wednesday.
Zubiri said the Philippines last hosted APPF in 1994. He also said that the country’s hosting of the 31st APPF is “an opportunity for forging resilient partnerships in the region.”
“Tomorrow, the Senate and the House of Representatives are going to open the 31st Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum or the APPF,” the Senate leader said in a statement.
APPF is a multilateral parliamentary forum between 28 member countries in the Asia-Pacific region, covering Southeast Asia, Oceania, Northeast Asia, and the Americas.
“The 31st Annual Meeting will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center from November 23 to November 25, and we are expecting to welcome about 275 foreign delegates for the event,” Zubiri said.
Expected to join Filipino legislators are lawmakers from the following 18 countries:
- Australia
- Brunei Darussalam
- Cambodia
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Korea
- Lao PDR
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Papua New Guinea
- Peru
- Russian Federation
- Thailand
- Vietnam
A total of 273 participants from these countries, including observers, have so far registered for the forum.
The delegates are expected to discuss political, security, economic, and trade matters as well as regional cooperation during the conference.
“[W]e will have special meetings for Women Parliamentarians and Young Parliamentarians as well,” Zubiri said.
“The Philippines is honored to open our doors for this annual meeting at this most important time of pandemic recovery, where resilient partnerships are crucial to the collective uplift of our people,” he added.
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