The Third General Assembly of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) opens Tuesday afternoon at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing with the attendance of Li Peng, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) and Vice President Hu Jintao at the opening ceremony. Li Peng delivers a welcome speech and Hu Jintao reads President Jiang Zemin's congratulation letter to the opening of the meeting. From April 17 to 19, the meeting will move to Chongqing, and the Chongqing Declaration of AAPP will be adopted before the closing ceremony.

The Parliament delegations from 39 countries participating in the assembly include 24 parliament heads and nine deputy heads. The number of foreign deputies exceeds 400. Eight delegations arrived in Beijing Sunday afternoon. The NPC delegation of China is headed by Zhou Guangzhao, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

Lu Congmin, deputy secretary-general of the NPC Standing Committee, introduced the preparation and agenda of the AAPP assembly to the media at a press conference Monday in the Great Hall of the People.

"It's the most important work for the NPC to take this year, " Lu said. He mentioned such successful precedents to this international conference hosted by the NPC as the 1996 International Parliament Union (IPU) Conference and the Sixth Session of Congressman Conference on Environment and Development of Asian-Pacific Nations in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in 1998.

Lu said that deputies from participating countries will focus on this year's theme of Peace and Development and will discuss three topics that are common concerns of the people all over the world: multi-polarization and world peace, economic globalization and developing countries, and closer international cooperation and establishment of a new international political and economic order.

In the spirit of drawing on the wisdom of various parties, seeking common points while reserving differences, friendly consultation and expanding mutual understanding, the assembly will adopt the Chongqing Declaration of AAPP, which will be its sole and most important common document, Lu said.

As the host of the assembly, China had organized a special staff to draft the Declaration in a document that includes ten parts, namely: Foreword, General view on the current situation in Asia and in the world at large, The significant role of Asia in the international arena, The role of parliaments in promoting world and regional peace and development, Peace and the democratization of international relations, Economic globalization and common development, Security, Human rights, The establishment of a new international political and economic order, and Exchanges and cooperation among parliaments.

"According what we've heard, all concerned parties have been actively and earnestly dealing with the issues; and they recognize the basic principles stipulated in the Declaration (Draft). During the session, the drafting committee will continue to exchange views and ideas with the delegations from all participating countries, polish the present draft into a final draft and submit it to the assembly for adoption," Lu said.

AAPP was established in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh in September 1999. It is a regional organization representing parliaments from countries in Asia and the Pacific as well as sovereign countries with territories in Asia. With 36 member countries, it is at present the largest regional parliamentary organization in Asia. Also, it is the most influential forum and channel for Asian parliaments and parliamentarians to open dialogue and exchanges. AAPP has held two annual meetings, in Bangladesh and Cambodia respectively.

(by Han Lin, China.org.cn staff reporter, translated by Liu Wenlong, Chen Chao and Li Jinhui, April 16, 2002)