MANAMA, 11th March, 2020 (WAM) — Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council, participated in the coordination meetings of the Gulf and Arab groups within the meetings of the 146th Assembly and the 211th session of the Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, held in the Kingdom of Bahrain, with the participation and presence of the heads of the Gulf legislative councils and the heads of Arab parliaments.
His Excellency Saqr Ghobash stressed the importance of coordinating positions between the Arab geopolitical group in the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the parliaments of all countries of the world, towards various issues and topics of common interest, which would have a positive impact on the active roles played by the Gulf and Arab parliaments, and their positive and important presence in regional parliamentary forums. and international.
He pointed out that the coordination meetings represent an important opportunity to unify positions and points of view regarding the issues on the agenda of the 146th Assembly, “especially the emergency item submitted by the sisterly State of Qatar entitled “Criminalization of contempt for religions and spreading hatred among peoples and the call to promote the values of coexistence, tolerance, international peace and security.” .
He pointed out that the coordination meeting of the Arab Parliamentary Group – which includes delegations of the Arab Parliamentary Group within the Inter-Parliamentary Union – comes within the framework of consultations between the Arab parliaments, members of the Union, on the issues on the agenda of the General Assembly and the Governing Council of the Union, and the formulation of a unified and common position towards those. issues”.
The two meetings were attended by members of the Federal National Council delegation, His Excellency Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Head of the Parliamentary Division of the Federal National Council in the Inter-Parliamentary Union, representative of the Arab Geopolitical Group in the Executive Committee of the Union, and His Excellency: Sarah Muhammad Falaknaz, Vice President of the Group, Dr. Sheikha Obaid Al Tunaiji, and Marwan Obaid Al-Muhairi, Dr. Moza Muhammad Al-Amiri, Mira Sultan Al-Suwaidi, Dr. Hawa Saeed Al-Mansouri, Adnan Hamad Al-Hammadi, and Suhail Nakhira Al-Afari, members of the National Council, Dr. Omar Abdul Rahman Al-Nuaimi, Secretary-General, Afra Rashid Al-Basti, Assistant Secretary-General for Parliamentary Communication, and Tariq Ahmed Al-Marzouqi, Assistant Secretary-General. Council Presidency Affairs.
During the coordination meeting of the Arab Group, His Excellency Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi presented a report that included the participation of the representative of the Arab Group in the work of the Executive Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and its sub-committees. Before the General Secretariat of the Federation.
He explained that with regard to the financial situation of the Federation, he participated in the Sub-Committee on Financial Affairs of the Executive Committee, which prepared the new budget for the Federation for the year 2023, which was built on the five goals of the Federation’s strategy (2022-2026), indicating that the report also included a data protection policy, and a policy Inter-Parliamentary Union on Harassment, and Permanent Observers of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
His Excellency reviewed the financial situation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union until January 2023 AD, and the voluntary contributions made by national organizations and parliaments. The Inter-Parliamentary Union was able to maintain the level of voluntary contributions.
Regarding the Working Group, Transparency, Accountability and Openness of the Executive Committee, His Excellency explained that the group discussed the Code of Conduct document for IPU officials with the aim of helping them fulfill their obligations towards the IPU.
Regarding the regional offices of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, His Excellency affirmed that the African and Arab geopolitical groups emphasized the establishment of a regional office in Cairo for the Arab region.
On the “IPU Cremer-Passy” award, His Excellency stressed that the Executive Committee reviewed the proposed amendments to the award system, which include merging the candidate evaluation mechanism into the system, and adding other amendments that ensure a more equitable system for distributing votes.
It is proposed in this cycle of the award and in line with the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s strategy 2022-2026 and its focus on climate action, that the award be awarded to a deputy or group of parliamentarians who have made outstanding contributions to climate action.
While the heads of Arab parliaments unanimously agreed on the need to move to support the emergency clause submitted by the State of Qatar regarding respect for religions, in light of the burning of the Holy Qur’an by extremist parties in Europe, stressing the need to address all transgressions against Islam. While the Arab geopolitical group approved its candidates for the committees of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in its next session.