ISLAMABAD: The Senate of Pakistan will host the sixth plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA), starting from December 8 in Islamabad.
About 25 countries, representing parliaments from all over Asia, have confirmed their participation in the three-day conference, which will include nearly 200 delegates. The theme of the conference is “Asian Century: Cooperation in Economy‚ Energy and Environment.”
The delegates for various Asian countries including Maldives, Syria, North Korea, Jordan, Turkey, Palestine, United Arab Emirates (UAE), China and other countries have arrived in Islamabad to attend the conference.
Talking to media representative, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayyed, who is also chairman of organizing committee of APA, said that the conference is being held at a time when the balance of power is shifting from the West to the East and it is now generally recognized that the 21st Century would be the “Asian Century”.
Mushahid Hussain further said that the conference would not only enhance the image of Pakistan since it is playing a pivotal role in the most strategic region of Asia but also discuss the pressing issues such as economy energy and the environment.
The Senator expressed the hope that Chairman of the Senate Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari would be elected unanimously as the new president of the APA.
The conference will be open to media and a special centre will be established to facilitate the coverage of the important conference. The Senate of Pakistan has also arranged live streaming of the conference through its especially dedicated website: www.asianparliament.org.pk.
Islamabad Declaration will be issued at the end of the conference with the objective to promote the theme of the Asian Century.
The APA was born out of Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) in November, 2006, in Tehran. However the concept and approval of converting the AAPP into the Asian Parliamentary Assembly were accepted during the 5th General Assembly of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) held in Islamabad in 2004.
The establishment of the AAPP goes back to 1999 when a group of Asian Parliamentarians decided to join forces toward promoting peace and human rights in Asia. The seventh session of the General Assembly of Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace was held in Tehran from 12 to 14 November 2006.
The AAPP was transformed into Asian Parliaments Assembly in pursuit of peace based on justice and of closer Asian Parliamentary Cooperation. On the basis of Article 13 of the APA Charter, the Honorable Dr. Haddad Adel was elected as the first President of the APA for a two-year term of office.
Unlike the AAP, members of the APA plenary must be elected by members of member Parliaments. This gives the APA an unprecedented and unique status in Asia.
In 2007 there were 41 Member of Parliament and 17 Observers. Each Member Parliament has a specific number of seats in the Assembly based on the size of their population. The number of totals seats, and therefore, number of votes, is currently 206. Members of Assembly must be elected by members of the member Parliaments.
