Li Peng, AAPP chairman and chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), presided over the closing session, where he said that the AAPP third annual meeting has achieved great successes.

Li said that parliaments are an essential part of state power. Efforts to promote cooperation between parliaments of various countries will play a vital role in maintaining world and regional peace and development.

He noted that China will continue to play an active part in the activities of Inter-Parliamentary Union and the AAPP as well as other international and regional parliamentary organizations, aiming to contribute to world peace and common prosperity.

During the four-day meeting, parliamentary leaders and members from various Asian countries exchanged views and reached consensus on multi-polarization and world peace, economic globalization and developing countries, closer international cooperation and the establishment of a new international political and economic order.

The AAPP Chongqing Declaration notes that peace and development are the theme and imperatives of the times. With the advent of the new century, multi-polarization and economic globalization are gaining further momentum. The world and Asia still face severe challenges. Asian countries should respect the reality of diversity, seek diversified development and take more solid strides toward regional cooperation, solidarity and mutual assistance.

The declaration calls on the international community to make concerted efforts to narrow the gap between developed and developing nations and reduce the population living in poverty so that all countries may benefit from globalization in a balanced way.

It urges the international community, in accordance with the purpose and principle of the Charter of the United Nations, to foster a new security concept with mutual trust, mutual benefit, quality and coordination as its core elements, to seek security through mutual trust and pursue cooperation to mutual benefit, and to jointly address the pressing issues it faces and reduce the factors of insecurity at their root causes so as to effectively safeguard global security.

At the closing session, AAPP delegates from Iran, Sri Lanka and the Republic of Korea reported discussions on three panel meetings with the themes of multi-polarization and world peace, economic globalization and developing countries, and closer international cooperation and establishment of a new international political and economic order.

Xu Dunxin, a member of China's NPC delegation, briefed the session on the draft of the AAPP Chongqing Declaration. The delegates agreed to adopt the declaration.

The delegates also agreed that the Philippines parliament would sponsor the fourth annual meeting of the AAPP. Roque Ablan, member of the Philippines Parliament, addressed the session, expressing their willingness to hold the AAPP's fourth meeting.

On behalf of all delegates, Jamiruddin Sircar, speaker of the National Assembly of Bangladesh, expressed congratulations on China's success in holding the AAPP third annual meeting.

(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2002)