‘Parliamentary diplomacy vital to boost ties among countries’

Speaker of the Council of Representatives, Fawzia Zainal,  has stressed that the activation of parliamentary diplomacy is in line with the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on openness to countries of the world, as a means to consolidate the Kingdom’s relations with various countries at all levels, as well as to co-ordinate stances and strengthen co-operation with them in the political, economic, industrial and diplomatic fields.

She pointed out that the Legislative Branch in the Kingdom is keen to enhance parliamentary co-operation with Asian and European parliaments at international gatherings to activate the external relations of Bahrain’s Legislature. She indicated that the delegation of the Kingdom’s Legislative branch has activated parliamentary diplomacy during its external participation, and earned the confidence of the participants in the Fourth Meeting of Speakers of the Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments, as reflected in their positive response to Bahrain’s speech during the same event.

The Speaker said that she had held a number of meetings with her counterparts on the sidelines of the Fourth Meeting of Speakers of the Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments, held recently in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Bahraini delegation also took part in the co-ordination meeting with GCC delegation to discuss the meeting’s agenda, as well as to co-ordinate stances ahead of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference, set to be held in Belgrade in October.

The Speaker held meetings with her Saudi and Omani counterparts on ways to enhance cooperation among GCC legislatures and increase their role in serving comprehensive development in GCC countries. The Kingdom’s parliamentary delegation also held talks with the Speaker of the Kazakh House of Representatives (Mazhilis) Speaker, Nurlan Nigmatulin, and Senate Speaker, Dr Dariga Nazarbayeva. The delegation also met the members of participating legislative councils and international organisations, in line with efforts to build strong partnerships with Asian and European countries.