Hon. Samiu Vaipulu recently attended the 18th General Assembly of the Asian Parliamentarians’ Conference on Environment and Development, on behalf of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga. The conference took place in Seoul in South Korea from the 10-12 of November and was attended by about 57 Members of Parliaments from 15 parliaments in Asia and the Pacific region.
This year’s conference was centralized on the theme “UN SDGs and international development”. This conference provided an important platform for parliamentarians to discuss how to prioritise the implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development Goals in an integrated way, as it relates to the environment and international development.
During this conference, Hon. Samiu Vaipulu delivered a presentation on the achievements and issues currently facing Tonga, foremost highlighting the high vulnerability of Tonga and the Pacific region to the impacts of climate change and environmental issues which has threatened the territorial integrity, biological diversity, livelihoods and the ecosystem. Specific attention was drawn to the constraints and specific needs of countries to implement legislation and policies in place and the need to directly access funding to help drive this implementation.
The conference produced an engaging and active dialogue from all parliamentarians. The outcome of this conference was the ‘Seoul Declaration’ which called on all participating parliaments to fully support the monitoring of progress and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development in their respective countries, and to ensure that parliaments hold their governments to account for the commitments made through the 2030 Agenda. Hon. Vaipulu was a part of drafting committee for this declaration and signed on Tonga’s behalf.
The Legislative Assembly of Tonga acknowledges the support of the APPCED, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Korea Population, Health and Welfare Organization and the Government of Korea.
Hon. Samiu Vaipulu and participants at the APPCED
Hon. Samiu Vaipulu signs the Seoul Declaration for the participating parliaments.