NA Speaker stresses on active parliamentary oversight of international negotiations      

ISLAMABAD: Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser has stressed that the Parliaments must play an active role in international affairs not only through inter-parliamentary cooperation and diplomacy, but also by contributing to and monitoring international negotiations, overseeing the enforcement of what was adopted by governments, and ensuring national compliance with international norms and the rule of law.

He said this while addressing the 2nd International Forum on “Development of Parliamentarism” in Moscow, according to a message received here on Monday.

The speaker said Parliaments offer an institutional framework for the mediation and during the past years, they have dramatically extended their role and circle of interest in the field of international and regional cooperation through Parliamentary Diplomacy.

He said the foreign policies were being driven by economic agendas; however, the Parliamentary Diplomacy can act as a bridge between democracies and bring them closer through common strengths and opportunities.

He said parliamentary diplomacy can be used for sharing good practices among legislatures but also as the baseline instrument for state to state cooperation and long term strategic partnerships.

He said the elected representatives deem to be best poised to fulfill that task due to their deep connection with their people.

The speaker said as “International Day of Parliamentarism”, was being observed, it was a moment for the parliamentarians, to reflect on the role which legislatures and lawmakers and representatives of the people, were expected to play.

He said in a more globalized world, many of the challenges faced by the world today were common in nature and cannot be solely understood or advanced through a national or inter-governmental lens.

He said it was the need of the hour that parliamentarians form a united front against violent extremism and resulting terrorism, climate change and its driven migration, human rights violation, international peace and security, rule of law, gender equality, freedom of expression and affordable access to basic human needs of health and education.

The speaker said cooperation between and among the states in its real sense could be achieved when Parliaments build consensus of opinion on matters of interests.

He said in the years ahead Parliaments would attain the role to lead people in tackling with some of the major and complex issues being faced.

He said the decisions resulting from the dialogue and discussion of the Parliaments will have long lasting impact on international political dynamics.

The speaker reiterated that Parliaments being cornerstone of democracy need to be truly made representative of people’s aspirations and the speakers, as custodians of the House, must take stock, identify challenges and find ways and means to improve the lives of the people being represented.

He said he would also like to underscore that Parliamentary Diplomacy through interaction and dialogue must be maintained as an alternative channel for discussion and promotion of solutions to various issues faced by nations at large.

He stressed for developing new synergies of parliamentary and economic cooperation between legislatures in order to achieve these objectives. Reiterating Pakistan’s commitment for promotion of Parliamentarism, he said that National Assembly was ready to play its role in mounting stronger linkages with fellow legislatures and looked forward to join the efforts of participants of this august forum for the same.

Concluding his address, the speaker commended the initiative of Volodin Via heslav Viktorov, the Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for hosting this forum.

He said that it was indeed heartening to note that this platform had been robustly engaged in promoting parliamentary cooperation, after merely a year of its inception.