Asian Parliamentary Assembly: ‘Asia is home to richest and poorest people of the world’

Economy, education, energy, extremism, environment are key concerns: Mushahid.

LAHORE:

“We hope that the seventh plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly is beneficial for the people of Asia, but the task is not an easy one as the region is a diverse one,” parliamentarians from various Asian countries attending the three-day long APA said in a statement issued after the session on Tuesday.

Syrian Parliament Speaker Muhammad Jihad Allaham, and Ganira Pashayeva, a member of Azerbaijan Parliament, separately met with Senate Chairman Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari on Tuesday and discussed regional politics and matters of mutual interest.



In his meeting with Pashayeva, Bokhari, who is also president of the APA, praised Azerbaijan’s commitment to working with the APA for regional stability. Azerbaijan was previously an observer at the APA and did not have the right to vote.

Pashayeva spoke about Azerbaijan’s tensions with Armenia. “Armenian aggression continues even though Azerbaijan has raised the issue on several platforms including the UN Security Council,” she told Bokhari. He appreciated Azerbaijan’s efforts in protecting human rights and thanked Azerbaijan for supporting the Kashmir cause. Pashayeva formally invited Bokhari to visit Azerbaijan.

Talking to Allaham, Bokhari said that Pakistan placed bilateral relations with Syria in high esteem and looked forward to fostering cooperation and collaborations between the two countries. He said the APA spoke for the people of Asia and was a forum for dialogue and discourse on issues faced by the people of the region.

Dialogue is the only way out of problems faced by the countries of the region, he said. “We can use the APA as a platform to work together for peace and stability in the region.” The leader of Syria’s parliamentary delegation lauded the proposal to transform the APA into an Asian Parliament.

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq presided over a session of the APA in the evening. He said Asia represented two polar opposites – it was home to 40 per cent of the world’s billionaires and 60 per cent of the world’s poorest populations. “An Asian Parliament will prove to be the right platform to bridge this gap”, he said.

Organising Committee Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed stressed the five E’s: economy, education, energy, extremism and environment. He said these issues needed to be addressed on priority basis.

Sayed said he hoped that the Asian Parliament would become the voice of the people of Asia. “The people of this region will decide their own destiny.”

Eight observers and 130 delegates from 25 member countries are participating in the Asian Parliamentary Assembly.

Pakistan’s delegation, comprising 25 senators, and members of national and provincial assemblies, is led by Raja Zafarul Haq.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2014.