A UAE Parliamentary Group concluded its participation in a meeting of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, APA, Standing Committee on Social and Cultural Affairs, which was held at the headquarters of the National Council of the Kingdom of Bhutan, in the capital Thimphu.

The three-day meeting, which concluded yesterday, saw the participation of 21 countries, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cyprus, India, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

The UAE Parliamentary Group was represented during the meeting by Dr. Nidal Al Tunaiji, UAE Parliamentary Group Member from the Federal National Council, FNC.

During the meeting, the participants agreed on the recommendation to elect Jigme Zangpo, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Bhutan, as the chair of the meeting, as well as General Nipat Thonglek from Thailand as vice chair, along with Yara Suos from Cambodia as secretary of the meeting.

Dr. Al Tunaiji also participated in a meeting of women parliamentarians, which was held on the sidelines of the main meeting, where the participants discussed the means of advancing the role of women in Asia, while condemning all types of violence against them.

Many participating delegations in the meeting highlighted the increasing percentage of positions taken on by women in regional parliaments and general departments.

They also discussed draft resolutions on the agenda related to health, labour, culture, heritage and refugees, especially from the region’s countries, as well as strengthening dialogue between divided groups and harmony between religions.

The participant further discussed several draft resolutions regarding arrangements to strengthen cultural diversity, protecting cultural heritage and regional integration, through information, communication technology, regional co-operation on health, justice, and protecting and strengthening the rights of migrant labourers.

They also agreed to add a draft resolution, proposed by Russia, to provide humanitarian assistance to distressed refugees from Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Dr. Al Tunaiji insisted, along with several other participating members, to add Myanmar to this resolution.

There was also an explanation of a draft resolution, entitled "Migrant Laborers," and a request from Bahrain to amend its content and change its title to "Expatriate Laborers," which is in line with the foreign policies of Arab Gulf countries. This motion was supported by the UAE Parliamentary Group.

The FNC previously hosted the meetings of the APA Standing Committee on Staff and Financial Regulations that was held at the InterContinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi on 22nd and 23rd May, 2017, which saw the participation of committee members representing parliaments of APA member countries.

Source: Wam