Speech of the Speaker at the Book Launched by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Excellency Dr. Cyrill Nunn, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany! Mr. Ronny Heine, Resident Representative Konrad Adenauer Stiftung! Mr. Kamran Azam, Compiler and Author of the Handbook! Hon’able Parliamentarians,Excellencies, Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen! I am pleased to join you all this morning at the Launch Ceremony of atimely compilation of a Handbook on the Concept and Practice of Parliamentary Friendship Group. I whole-heartedly congratulate Mr. Kamran Azam, the Author, for a job well done. Mr. Azam has worked with the National Assembly and during his association with the Parliament; he helped reviving the Parliamentary Friendship Groups. It is heartening to note that he has now recordedhis experience and observations usefully for the benefit of the incumbent and future parliamentarians. I also appreciate the support of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in the initiation and completion of this document. A noted political organization of Germany, KAS manifests the democratic ideals transparency and collective leadership, championed in today’s global political scenario by Germany. I recall my own association with this widely respected organization in the past when we jointly worked for the strengthening of Civil-Military Strategic Dialogue with Germany and also in the mobilization of Pak-German Parliamentary Friendship Group in the previous National Assembly. I look forward to this continued cooperation. Here, I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of Excellency Dr. Cyrll Nunn, the dedicated Ambassador of Germany and his predecessor Excellency Dr. Michal Koch for their unrelenting support in ensuring the success of the Pak-German Friendship Group. Excellency! Through your pro-active role, you have proved yourself Pakistan’s true and trusted friend and I hope that the relations between our two countries will move from strength to strength under your ambassadorship. Ladies and Gentlemen! The rise of globalization has seen the emergence of new ideas and practices, which have diversified the traditional roles of state institutions. The paradigm shifts in global economy, transnational security and international development have pushed nations to break new grounds of engagement and cooperation. As a result, diplomacy is now no longer restricted to inter-state formalities but has become a wider meeting ground of people across borders. Such increased blurring of boundaries between national and foreign affairs means that parliamentarians must consider issues put before them with a global mindset. No wonder, the dictums of “Parliamentary Diplomacy” are fast taking roots with a growing interest among Parliaments to oversee and scrutinize the Executive’s Foreign policies. Parliament’s standing committees on foreign relations, bilateral delegations, multilateral parliamentary assemblies and the friendship groups are playing an increasingly important role in bridging nations, creating cross-border and inter-national understanding and conveying messages which at times the official bureaucratic channels are unable to deliver. During the last five years, this realization strongly impacted in the re-organization of Friendship Groups in the previous National Assembly. I commend the personal interest and zeal of our former Speaker Dr. Fehmida Mirza for activating this important parliamentary function. Her patronage was instrumental in the re-drafting of the Rules for Parliamentary Friendship Groups,which enabled the subsequent reorganization by appointing Members as full-time Conveners to these respective Groups. As the Convener of the Pak-German Group, I was a part of her team then and so it is going to be a priority on my agenda to keep the tradition vibrant. I’ve already instructed the re-organization of these Groups in the 14th National Assembly and I’m pleased to inform you that these are in the final stages of their formation and will be notified shortly. A complete programme of activities is also being chalked out for these Groups, which will be shared with the Missions of friendly countries in Islamabad to ensure its timely and usefulimplementation. We are determined to use this valuable forum in reaching out to the world with a message of peace, friendship and cooperation and for this, we seek support from all friends of a democratic Pakistan, including our trusted partner the KAS. This handbook is going to be a useful guide for the Friendship Groups in better understanding of their role and scope. I do hope to see further such research-based publications in future, which could help the National Assembly in improving its performance in legislation, committee system and other areas of parliamentary oversight. I thank you all. Pakistan Zindabaad
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 21:22:33 +0000
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