ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Commerce and Investments Syed Naveed Qamar on Sunday elected as the President of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA).

Naveed Qamar defeated Dip. Margarita Stobilzer, a very senior member parliament of the host county, Argentina, by an overwhelming majority of over 90% of the votes in the election held in Buenos Aires Argentina, said a message received here on Sunday.

In the election, 133 elected members exercised their right to vote, out of 140 parliaments around the globe and elected Syed Naveed Qamar as the new PGA president.

It is pertinent to mention here that Naveed Qamar is the first Pakistani Member of the Parliament who is elected as president of PGA for the term of two years (2023-2024).

He is one of the longest serving parliamentarians who had joined in 1991 along with former prime minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and some other PPP members. He is also a Nishan-e-Pakistan recipient.

On the occasion, Naveed Qamar said that it was a “great honour” for him to be elected as the President of the PGA and that it was also an outcome of the current government’s diplomatic efforts.

He pledged to promote peace, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, gender equality, climate and population issues by informing, convening, and mobilizing parliamentarians.

A number of local and foreign parliamentarians, including Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf, Chairman, and Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani congratulated Naveed Qamar for holding such an important international position and hoped that he would play his role for promoting and protecting human rights, democracy and peace in the world.

Former member PGA and leader of PPP said in his tweet: “Heartiest congratulations on your [Naveed’s] election. Hope during your presidency the Parliamentarians for Global Action will further strengthen parliamentary platforms for climate action and revisiting death penalty.”

PGA, is a non-profit, non-partisan international network of approximately 1,300 legislators in over 140 elected parliaments around the globe which contributes to creating an enabling environment for positive changes, especially through activities that facilitate connections between civil society and parliamentarians, as well as building bridges between domestic and international policy-makers.

It was established in 1978 in Washington, D.C. by a group of concerned parliamentarians from around the world to take collective, coordinated and cohesive actions on global problems.

PGA operates under the political direction of the executive committee and the international council, with the technical and legal assistance of the secretariat based in New York and The Hague.