Sharjah24 – WAM: Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC) and President of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, has said that the strategy of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for 2022-2026 should prioritise the international issues of climate change and empowering women and youth.
He made this statement during his participation in the virtual advisory meeting of heads of geopolitical groups in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which was attended by Dr. Omar Al Nuaimi, Secretary-General of the FNC, and Afraa Al Busti, Assistant Secretary-General for Parliamentary Communication.
The meeting’s agenda included five main items, including consultations on the new Inter-Parliamentary Union strategy for 2022-2026, mechanism for electing presidents and vice-presidents of standing committees, consultations on upcoming Inter-Parliamentary Union meetings, the financial obligations of states, and the formation of the board of the Cremer-Passy Inter-Parliamentary Union Award.
Commenting on the strategy, Ghobash stressed that the Arab group supports the fundamental values of the strategy, especially those related to equality, transparency, integrity, joint interests and promoting patriotism, noting that such values are integral foundations of parliamentary action. He also affirmed the importance of considering diversity in terms of nationality and religion etc.
He explained the second strategic goal, which involves the inclusion of all segments of the community within the parliament. Under this context, Ghobash noted the importance of setting goals with set deadlines, stressing that all less-represented segments, most notably women and youth, should be empowered within the set deadlines.
He also spoke about the experience of the UAE, which has established goals in phases, noting that within the planned phase, women’s representation in the country’s parliament accounted for 50 percent.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union should prioritise climate change in the upcoming period, he suggested, stressing the importance of a common international will to integrate parliamentary action with government action.
He also discussed the importance of capitalising on the outcomes of COP26 in Glasgow to achieve further progress in the two upcoming conferences, which are set to take place in Egypt and the UAE.
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