Mian Raza Rabbani, Chairman Senate of Pakistan, met with Mr. Akbar Khan,
Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) on
29 August 2016 in London. During the meeting, the two sides held
detailed discussion on a wide range of issues of mutual interest.
The Secretary General apprised the Chairman of the upcoming projects and
activities of the CPA, including the next Annual Commonwealth
Parliamentary Conference (CPC). He said that the CPA has invited member
countries to host the
Conference, however, the venue has not yet been finalized. The Secretary General
emphasized on hosting the Conference outside the UK, but added that as a
last resort the Conference might be held in London. He also informed
the Chairman that CPA was considering making the Conference a biennium
feature, with regions rather than individual branches hosting it.
The Chairman expressed satisfaction on the existing level of cooperation
between the CPA Headquarters and the Parliament of Pakistan. He said
that the visit of
the Secretary General in May 2016 was instrumental in further cementing
these relations. The Chairman added that the Road Show and the CPA Staff
Development
Workshop also created goodwill about the CPA in Pakistan.
Briefing the Secretary General on the various activities of the Pakistan branch
of the CPA, the Chairman gave a detailed overview of different youth engagement
programmes including parliamentary internships, Clerks of Parliament
initiative and parliamentary study tours. The Secretary General
appreciated Pakistan’s efforts and offered CPA’s support in introducing
Commonwealth focused parliamentary programmes for youth. He also
apprised the Chairman of CPA’s new parliamentary accredited courses as
well as the remote Masters classes, which would be launched in 2017.
The issue of hosting the seminar on ‘Hot Topic’ in Pakistan also came under
discussion. The Chairman said that Pakistan has proposed to hold the
seminar from 23-26 November 2016, however, final confirmation has not
yet been received from CPA Asia Regional Secretary. He also suggested
inviting other CPA regions besides Asia, such as Canada and Caribbean,
to make the seminar more effective and interactive.
The Secretary General welcomed Chairman’s proposals and offered his good
offices to assist in early finalization of the seminar. He also
underscored the importance of holding regional conferences and seminars
regularly to make CPA more effective and interconnected.
The two sides expressed desire to forge even stronger relations between
the CPA Headquarters and the Pakistan branch of CPA to benefit from each
other’s expertise.
The meeting was followed by a lunch, which was also attended by Ms Shirley
Osborne, Speaker of the House, Montserrat and Mr. Nabil Goheer, Director
Strategic Planning and Evaluation Division, Commonwealth Secretariat.
*****
PREVIOUS NEXT