Agenda For Asian Parliamentary Assembly's Session Adopted

Islamabad, Dec 9, IRNA – The Executive Council Meeting of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly Sunday adopted agenda for the 6th plenary session of the APA starting from Monday in Islamabad. About 225 delegates, including speakers‚ deputy speakers and parliamentarians from nearly 30 countries will attend the meeting. Iran is also attending the conference, being hosted by the Senate of Pakistan. During the conference, Chairman of the Senate‚ Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari would be elected as the new president of the APA. The Asian Parliamentary Assembly comprises of 41 Member-Parliaments and 17 Observers. It was created in 2006 to promote cooperation among parliaments of the member states. Islamabad Declaration will be issued at the end of the conference. Iran’s Majlis Vice Speaker Seyyed Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi-Fard presented a report about last conference of the APA held in Tehran in May 2013. He added that in terms of skilled and semi-skilled labor force Asia ranks first in the world. Migration of this great potential within Asia is one of the important factors in social and economic development. “Unfortunately, the legal gaps regarding the rights of migrant workers in some countries, have given rise to oppression against the working class,” he said. He added that the active participation of women in Asian Parliaments could be an appropriate response to the needs and demands of half of Asias population who have a major role in strengthening family ties, parenting, and the economic development in Asia. “In conclusion, I would like to draw the attention of the distinguished colleagues to another important challenge. Seeking for a remedy against the sectarian killings is an issue that deserves a special attention. Unfortunately, sectarian killing which was a rare and solitary activity, has converted into a social culture that is glaring in the normal behavior as routine violence,” he said. Expressing his views, Seyyed Mohammad Hassan Abutorabi-Fard said that terrorist operations which result in the brutal killing of followers of different Islamic sects – especially Shia and Sunni, should strongly be condemned. “Slaughtering the innocents under religious and sectarian excuses is in conflict with the clear teachings of the Quran and Sunnah, and tarnishes the divine image of Islam in the world. By condemning sectarian killings, all religious scholars and the mass media should invite Muslims to observe profound tolerance and to follow the cordial Sunnah of the holy Prophet of Islam,” he said. Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of Asian Parliamentary Assembly, has said that the Asian Parliamentary Assembly would provide a platform for dialogue and discussion on issues concerning the socio-economic prosperity and well-being of the Asian region as a whole. The APA, he said, is an Asia-wide organization bringing together Parliaments from all the Asian countries. Senator Mushahid Hussain disclosed that around 30 countries have confirmed their participation in the conference which would be a great honour for Pakistan, testifying to international recognition of Pakistan’s role as a vibrant and dynamic democracy. He said that Pakistan is an important country in the region. The Senate took the initiative to impress upon the global community that elected leadership can play an active role in searching out solutions for common challenges faced by member-states. He said that the APA would be the biggest ever conference in Pakistan’s Parliamentary history. He further informed that the proceedings will be broadcast live on the official website of Asian Parliamentary Assembly. During the briefing, Chairman of the organizing Committee informed that the conference is being held at a very important moment in the history of Asia when the balance of power is shifting from the west to east and it is now generally recognized that the 21st century would be “the Asian century”. It is very imperative that the elected representative of the people must shape the destiny and the future of Asia so that the problems of the worlds biggest continent can be resolved by the Asians themselves, Mushahid Hussain added. He said that the conference would not only enhance the image of country since Pakistan is playing a pivotal role in the most strategic region of Asia, but also on the pressing issues such as economy, energy and environment, the APA would seek to present a way-forward. Expressing his views, Secretary-General of the APA Nejad-Husseinian said that Parliaments are increasingly becoming more active players both in domestic and foreign affairs. “In this respect, I would like to encourage all the Member-Parliaments to consider further use of an already existing mechanism within the APA, namely the mechanism of Troika-Plus, to generate a kind of subjective, credible, high-caliber and timely reports that APA Executive Council and Plenary need to review and take note of,” he said. “In my view, the growing international outreach of the APA will definitely contribute to the realization of its goals and objectives,” he added. “We have every reason to be optimistic about future accomplishments of the APA as we can certainly be optimistic about the future of Asia,” said the Secretary General./end