Mar 30, 2012 00:12
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in Kampala, Uganda will discuss the need to support the efforts of the United Nations and the Arab League to bring peace in Syria, Chairman of the Saudi Shoura Council Abdullah Al-Asheikh said in Riyadh yesterday.
Al-Asheikh is leading the Kingdom's delegation to the 126th General Assembly of the IPU, which will meet in Kampala, Uganda on Saturday.
The delegation includes Shoura members Saleh Al-Hussaini, Saleh Al-Namlah, and Mohsen Al-Hazimi. Director Gen. of media and public relations at the Shoura Council Abdul Rahman Al-Saghir, Director of protocols Muhammad Al-Barahim, and Director of parliamentary relations Khaled Al-Mansour are also accompanying the delegation.
The IPU assembly brings together parliamentarians from member states in the union, United Nations, observer members, global organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and the World Bank, and representatives of regional parliamentary organizations, including the Arab Parliamentary Union.
"The Kingdom is participating in the IPU assembly as part of its efforts to find solutions to international issues and to strengthen its cooperation with parliaments and Shoura councils in the world, especially when challenges to peace and security are on the rise," Al-Asheikh said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency.
Al-Asheikh added that the Kingdom joined the union in 2003 and has been supporting collective parliamentary actions in regional, continental and global levels with the aim of ensuring peace and security in the world.
The assembly in Kampala will discuss the relationship between parliaments and people as well as the role of parliaments in addressing key challenges to securing the health of women and children and drawing lessons from recent events in the Middle East and North Africa. IPU permanent committees will hold meetings on the sidelines of the assembly.
Other meetings that will coincide with the IPU assembly are the coordination meeting of the Arab parliamentary delegations, the IPU Governing Council's 190th meeting, 17th meeting of Women Parliamentarians, and meetings of IPU's specialized committees.
The IPU, established in 1889, is the first permanent global forum for political multilateral negotiations. Initially, the organization was for individual parliamentarians, but it has since transformed into an international organization of the parliaments of sovereign states. The national parliaments of 157 countries are members of the IPU, and nine regional parliamentary assemblies are associate members. The IPU has permanent observer status at the United Nations. Its permanent committees deal with peace and security, sustained development, finance and trade, and democracy and human rights all over the world.
© Arab News 2012
