The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) is a
regional parliamentary body which acts as a primary point for communication and information sharing between member countries. Its primary objectives are to provide information to
Southeast Asian
Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is ...
citizens about
policies
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...
aimed at establishing an
ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...
community by 2025 and to foster mutual understanding and collaboration among these parliaments.
Unlike the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
, AIPA is a form of
transnational parliamentary conference with weak
constitutional power, holding only advisory power and lacking
legislative
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...
and oversight powers over ASEAN itself and its members. Every year, ASEAN countries take turns holding the Presidency of the Assembly and taking on the responsibility of organizing the
plenary meetings of the member parliaments in the General Assembly of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (AIPA General Assembly).
History
Establishment

In 1977, a decade after the founding of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 Sovereign state, states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its ...
(ASEAN), the need to strengthen regional solidarity became increasingly apparent. Legislators recognized that the growth of ASEAN was closely tied to the cooperation between the parliaments of its member countries, which represent the will and aspirations of the people. This realization led to calls for closer
inter-parliamentary collaboration to seek new sources of motivation for regional cooperation.
Thus the organization's creation was initiated by
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, with the support of other members of ASEAN's five founding-members.
The heads of the parliamentary delegations from Indonesia,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, and
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
—who were attending the 3rd ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Conference in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
—originally created the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) on September 2, 1977,
which is grouped with, but formally associated with
ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...
.
AIPO was established to promote cooperation between member parliaments to achieve the goals and aspirations of ASEAN.
Met for the first time in 1978 in Singapore,
AIPA today has over 300 members that includes all ten members of ASEAN, namely the legislatures of
Brunei
Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
, Indonesia,
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
, Malaysia,
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. Brunei and Myanmar—which previously had no
legislature
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...
—participated as special observers to AIPO.
Then, in 1993, Brunei became a permanent observer. Later, Vietnam joined in 1995, Laos in 1997, Cambodia in 1999, Brunei in 2009, and Myanmar joined in 2011. In 2009, at the 30th AIPA General Assembly in
Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Eastern Thailand, the second-largest city in Chonburi province and the List of municipalities in Thailand, eighth-largest city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, and h ...
, Thailand, a resolution was considered and adopted to recognize the
Legislative Council of Brunei
The Legislative Council of Brunei ( Malay: ''Majlis Mesyuarat Negara Brunei''; Jawi: ; abbrev: Legco) is a national unicameral legislature of Brunei. The council comprises 36 appointed members, that only has consultative tasks. Under Brunei's 1 ...
as an official member of AIPA. Myanmar participated in AIPO activities as a special observer since 1997 and became a full member of AIPA at the 32nd AIPA General Assembly in Cambodia in September 2011 after the country promulgated a
new constitution and held parliamentary elections. Since 1979, it has held semi-regular bilateral meetings with the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
.
Reforms
On September 14, 2006, at the 27th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) in
Cebu
Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...
, Philippines, all ten member countries agreed to change the organization's name to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).
The adoption of the AIPA Charter on April 17, 2007, replacing the previous AIPO Charter, marked the completion of the transition. Then,
Indonesia's parliament speaker,
Agung Laksono, said that the transition from AIPO to AIPA was not simply a change of words, but had profound meaning, expressing the aspirations of ASEAN peoples for the bloc's parliamentary organization to operate more effectively, towards a model of effective inter-parliamentary cooperation and closer cooperation between ASEAN parliaments.
Powers and functions

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) is a form of
transnational parliamentary conference with minimal
legal status
Legal status describes the legal rights, duties and obligations of a person or Legal person, entity, or a subset of those rights and obligations. (defining "status") The term may be used to describe a person's legal condition with respect to perso ...
. Regarding the internal affairs of the parliaments of ASEAN member countries, the council only has advisory rights and lacks
legislative
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...
and supervisory powers. Along with the renaming of the organization in 2006, AIPA also reformed its organizational structure such as: President, Executive Committee, Standing Committee, as well as strengthening the role of the AIPA Secretary General.
General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly
The General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) is the highest body of AIPA, the
policy-making body of AIPA and meets at least once a year, unless otherwise decided by the Executive Board. The AIPA General Assembly consists of
delegations from each member parliament (not exceeding 15 people), and may invite additional special-observers, observers, and guests. The AIPA General Assembly sessions are hosted by the parliaments of member countries, which rotate each year in the position of AIPA President of that country.
The president of the parliament of the country hosting the AIPA General Assembly will be the President of AIPA, as well as the President of that General Assembly. Normally, the
term of office
A term of office, electoral term, or parliamentary term is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a defined limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subjec ...
of the AIPA President is one year, equivalent to the time between two General Assembly sessions, and of course, it is also held by member countries in rotation. The AIPA President is responsible for promoting the goals and principles of AIPA, cooperating with the parliaments of member countries to strengthen parliamentary institutions and the role of parliamentarians in regional issues. The AIPA President is also the Chairman of the Executive Committee and has the power to convene the Executive Committee Meeting at the time and place required. The AIPA President, when invited, will attend each
ASEAN Summit
The ASEAN Summit is a biannual meeting held by the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in relation to economic, political, security, and socio-cultural development of Southeast Asian countries. In addition, it serves ...
and has the power to invite the Chairman of the ASEAN Standing Committee to attend the AIPA General Assembly and other meetings of the Council.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is the advisory body of AIPA, consisting of no more than three parliamentarians from each member parliament. The term of the Executive Committee follows the term of each General Assembly session. The Executive Committee has the following tasks: to consider and introduce official members, special-observers and other observers; to propose new initiatives on activities; to organize the implementation of resolutions; to consider and decide on the agenda of the General Assembly sessions; to propose the establishment of Standing Committees, Research Committees and Special Committees; to direct, manage and supervise the work of the Permanent Secretariat; to propose the appointment of personnel of the Permanent Secretariat and to promulgate the operating regulations of the Executive Committee.
Standing committees

The General Assembly may establish Standing Committees, Study Committees and Ad-Hoc Committees or sub-committees of a Standing Committee on specific matters. Currently, the Assembly has the following Standing Committees:
* Political Committee
* Economic Committee
* Social Committee
* Organizing Committee
* AIPA Women Parliamentarians Conference (WAIPA)
* Committee dialogue with observers
There are also two Study Committee and Ad-Hoc Committee:
* AIPA Advisory Council on Dangerous Drugs (AIPACODD)
* AIPA Caucus
Secretariat and Secretary General
The Secretariat is the administrative organ of AIPA. The functions and tasks of the AIPA Secretariat are defined as the administrative office and information center for the work and activities of AIPA—the coordinating body and the channel of communication between AIPA and
ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...
—as well as with other regional and
international organizations
An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own leg ...
. The headquarters of the AIPA Secretariat is located in the same city as the headquarters of the ASEAN Secretariat, currently
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
. The Secretary General of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly is the head of the AIPA Secretariat, responsible for the operations of the secretariat and is elected for a term of three years.
Parliamentary sessions

According to the Charter of AIPO (and now the AIPA), the General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) will meet once a year, hosted by the parliament of a member country in its country, on a rotational basis. As of 2017, there have been 38 AIPA General Assemblies.
At each General Assembly, AIPA meets with dialogue partners such as
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
,
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
. The first AIPO General Assembly in 1978 was held in Singapore.
During the 27th AIPO General Assembly held in Cebu, Philippines on September 14, 2006, at the closing session, the organization changed its name to ''the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA)''. In addition, AIPO-27 added new regulations such as AIPO having a professional Secretary General following the ASEAN model with a three-year term, the Executive Committee and specialized committees such as the Women's Committee, the Economic Committee, the Political Committee, the Social Committee, and the Organization Committee were enhanced in their roles and powers.
For resolutions issued by AIPO, national parliaments are required to disseminate them to their parliaments and governments, and at the same time, member parliaments are responsible for reporting to AIPO on how AIPO resolutions have been and are being implemented. The AIPO President and the ASEAN Standing Committee President will attend each other's major activities.
In 2020, when the
National Assembly of Vietnam
The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (N.A.; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral parliament and the highest body of state power of Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Vietnam. The National Assembly is the only branch of governmen ...
was the President of AIPA, due to the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly was held online for the first time. At the 41st AIPA General Assembly, the parliaments of the countries developed a strategic vision for AIPA for the next five to ten years. At the same time, the 41st AIPA General Assembly also re-organized the meeting of the Political Committee of the Assembly after three consecutive general assemblies could not be held.
The most recent AIPA General Assembly was the 42nd ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-42) held in 2021, which was also held online, chaired by the President of the Legislative Council of Brunei, due to the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.
Members and observers
Members
* —
People's Representative Council of Indonesia (September 2, 1977): founding member of AIPO.
* —
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, Literal translation, lit. "People's As ...
(September 2, 1977): founding member of AIPO.
* —
Congress of the Philippines
The Congress of the Philippines () is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of an upper body, the Senate of the Philippines, Senate, and a lower body, the House of Representatives ...
(September 2, 1977): founding member of AIPO.
* —
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the President of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made ...
(September 2, 1977): founding member of AIPO.
* —
National Assembly of Thailand
The Parliament of Thailand ( Abrv: NAT; , , ) is the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Thailand. It convenes in the Sappaya-Sapasathan, Dusit District, Bangkok.
The Parliament was established in 1932 after the adoption of Thai ...
(September 2, 1977): founding member of AIPO.
* —
National Assembly of Vietnam
The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (N.A.; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral parliament and the highest body of state power of Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Vietnam. The National Assembly is the only branch of governmen ...
(September 19, 1995).
* —
National Assembly of Laos
The National Assembly (NA; ) or formally the National Assembly of the Lao People's Democratic Republic () is the highest power organisation of Laos. It is the only branch of government in Laos, and per the principle of unified power, all state ...
(1997).
* —
National Assembly of Cambodia
The National Assembly (, UNGEGN: ; ) is one of the two houses (chambers) of the Parliament of Cambodia. It is referred to as the lower house, with the Senate being referred to as the upper house.
The National Assembly is an elected body consi ...
(1999).
* —
Legislative Council of Brunei
The Legislative Council of Brunei ( Malay: ''Majlis Mesyuarat Negara Brunei''; Jawi: ; abbrev: Legco) is a national unicameral legislature of Brunei. The council comprises 36 appointed members, that only has consultative tasks. Under Brunei's 1 ...
(September 4, 2009).
* —
Union Assembly of Myanmar (September 20, 2011).
Observers
As of 2023, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Council has 23 observer members, one of them is the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
—synonymous model regional parliament. The other 22 observers are national parliaments or lower chambers of governments. Most recently, the
Ukrainian Parliament
The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capi ...
and the
lower house of Pakistan were admitted during the 42nd AIPA General Assembly 2021 in Brunei. Followed by the
Armenian National Assembly which was granted observer status at the 44th AIPA General Assembly in Jakarta in August 2023.
August 2023 marked the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly's 44th General Session in Jakarta, which concluded with key document approvals and a handover of AIPA chairmanship. The session was joined by the
Belarusian Deputy Chairman of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
.
On September 16, 2024, the
Serbian parliament formally requested an associate membership in the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), citing historical cooperation in the
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...
.
References
{{reflist
External links
AIPA home pageAIPA Facebook
ASEAN
Organizations established in 1977
Parliamentary assemblies