ISLAMABAD – Around 100 Member Parliaments from 26 Asian, African andEuropean countries will sit together in Gwadar from October 29-31 to lookinto ways and means to make Asian region more inclusive and developmentoriented at meeting of Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA).
The Senate of Pakistan, is hosting Meetings of APA Standing Committee onPolitical Affairs & Special Committee for Creation of Asian Parliament atGwadar – a future hub of Asian trade. The purpose of holding of thisinternational conferenceis to highlight its economic importance as well as giving a message toworld that Pakistan is a peaceful country withenormous investment opportunities.During the three-day event, the member countries of the APA woulddeliberate on future prospects for economiccooperation.
The inaugural ceremony would be held on October 29 to be followed bymeetings of Special Committee on Creation ofAsian Parliament at a local hotel in Gwadar. The meetings will lead todiscussion on resolutions which willconsequently be brought before the Assembly.
The resolutions to be discussed by the APA Committee on Political Affairsrelate to rule of law and judicial empowerment in Asian region, buildingprosperity in Asia through friendship and cooperation, bringing Asianparliaments and governments together for prosperity in Asia and promotinggood parliamentary practices.
The Senate will put before the Assembly the proposal of “developmentthrough democracy” suggesting this system ofgovernance as the most important tool for peace, prosperity and development.In his comments, Chairman Senate, Sadiq Sanjrani has expressed satisfactionover arrangements made for this Conference, and said that it was collectiveresponsibility of all concerned to make it a success as it will not onlyhelp to project soft image of Pakistan but will highlight real potential ofGawadar as a port city.
Sanjrani said the development of Gwadar is not only in the best interestsof Pakistan but the whole of Asia. He saidthat holding meeting of the APA committee in Gwadar will help provide onground awareness to participants and delegates from different regions.
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He said that operationalisation of Gwadar port and China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC) projects would providejobs to locals in Pakistan and uplift quality of life of common citizens.
It merits mentioned here that the APA traces its history back toestablishment of Association of Asian Parliamentsfor Peace (AAPP) in September 1999 in Dhaka (Bangladesh), when a group ofAsian parliamentarians decided to join forcestowards promoting peace and human rights in Asia.
In 2006, the AAPP was converted into Asian Parliamentary Assembly in Tehran(Iran). The APA comprises, in 2007, of 42Member Parliaments and 16 observers. Each Member Parliament has a specificnumber of seats in the Assembly based onsize of their population. The number of total seats, and therefore, numberof votes, is currently 206.
