July 24, 2015
News
Pakistan to host 61st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
ISLAMABAD: The 61st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) will be held in Islamabad from September 30 to October 8.
The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Renewing the commitment to pluralism and inclusive democracy in the Commonwealth’.
Pakistan’s national and provincial assemblies are active members of the association. This will be the first ever such conference in Pakistan. The choice of Islamabad as the venue for the conference is indicative of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s (CPA) acknowledgment of the country’s positive contributions and the struggle of its parliamentarians for the peaceful transition to democracy and their endeavors and sacrifices for peace, prosperity and stability in Pakistan and beyond.
Parliamentary delegations from more than 175 legislatures of 53 countries of the Commonwealth will attend the conference. During their weeklong stay in Islamabad, over 600 parliamentarians will discuss issues pertaining to legislative oversight, parliamentary strengthening, gender development, climate change and other issues of importance to the Commonwealth fraternity.
The CPA, which organises the CPC every year in one of the member countries, connects, develops, promotes and supports parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and the implementation of the enduring values of the Commonwealth.
The CPA was founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association and its affairs were administered by the United Kingdom Branch. Evolving into the Commonwealth, membership of the associations was expanded across the Commonwealth in 1948.
During the same year, the CPA adopted its present name, changed its rules to enable all member branches to participate in the association’s management and established a separate secretariat to manage its affairs. HM Queen Elizabeth-II as the Head of Commonwealth is the patron of the CPA.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk