ISTANBUL, 29 November 2018: A Parliamentary delegation led by Senator Muhammad Ali Saif, expressed support for enhancing trade and economic linkages amongst the Asian countries during the inaugural ceremony of the 11thPlenary Session of Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) held at Istanbul, Turkey. The inaugural session was attended by Speakers of the Parliaments of Turkey and Iran as well as a large number of Parliamentary delegations.
Delivering a message on behalf of the Chairman Senate during the APA meeting, Senator Muhammad Ali Saif stated that intra and inter-regional connectivity was key to economic prosperity and progress in the region.
He stressed the critical role that parliamentary forums like APA could play in realizing the dream of regional economic integration in Asia. He also highlighted the important contributions of Pakistan’s Parliament towards realizing this goal during Pakistan’s Presidency of the APA from 2013-2015 as well as its Vice-Presidency of APA Political Affairs Committee and Special Committee for the Creation of Asian Parliament (SCCAP) during 2017-2018. He also called for the creation of an Asian Parliament as a stepping-stone towards greater regional interaction.
Senator Muhammad Ali Saif said that that the highly successful meeting of the APA Political Affairs Committee and SCCAP recently held at Gwadar, was a testimony to Pakistan’s strong desire to play its due role in the region for enhancing inter and intra regional connectivity. The meeting also helped to bring to international lime-light the numerous connectivity projects currently underway in Pakistan under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. These projects would help bring peace and prosperity to the entire region and beyond.
The 11thPlenary Session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) was held from 29 November to 2 December 2018 on the theme of “Promoting Economic Prosperity in Asia.”
Pakistan’s delegation to the meeting included Senator Muhamamd Ali Saif, Senator Ayub Afridi, Senator Moula Bux Chandio, Senator Mir Kabeer Ahmed Muhammad Shahi, Senator Nuzhat Sadiq, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, and MNA, Makhdoom Zain Hussain Qureshi as well as Secretary General Senate, Amjad Pervez Malik.
Earlier, the Parliamentary delegation also attended the meeting of the Executive Council of APA during which it reiterated the need for coming up with financial contributions for streamlining the affairs of APA on a permanent basis. Pakistan also expressed its willingness to contribute an appropriate amount to be agreed unanimously by the APA Member Parliaments in this regard.
No comments:
Post a Comment