By Mohammad Al-Otaibi
NEW YORK, Aug 30 (KUNA) -- Lawmakers from around the world will have the opportunity to come together at the UN to launch a new era of political leadership and growing international interaction.
Speakers from 140 countries will take part in the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament at the UN headquarters in New York for the second time.
The meeting will be part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that is scheduled to be adopted in couple of weeks.
The three-day UN-supported conference is scheduled to kick off on Monday, August 31st, with the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, General Assembly President Sam Kutesa along with senior officials from the conference.
The conference will be a platform with a potential of a wide-ranging political action to bring dramatic change to the world and generations to come. It is an opportunity for the 138 plus Speakers of Parliament, and 39 deputies, to focus on global issues of peace and democracy, as well as other challenges.
Kuwait is represented by National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim and MPs Saif Al-Azmi, Abdullah Al-Mayoof, Yousef Al-Zalzalah along with other officials. They will be attending several activities, as the parliament Speaker will be addressing the conference on September 1st.
On the sideline of the Conference, Al-Ghanim is scheduled to hold several bilateral meetings and attend other activities.
Meeting the reporters in New York, the Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Martin Chungong, said that being part of the SDGs, is the primarily reason for hosting the conference at the UN.
The General Assembly has welcomed it to be a part of a series of high-level meetings that lead up to the SDGs adoption summit, he added.
He saluted UN Chief Ban for consulting widely with lawmakers and other stakeholders before the adoption of the SDGs, and engaging them in this journey.
Fifteen years ago, the IPU held its First Speakers' Conference that took place on the eve of the Millennium Summit.
Back then, participants have presented their vision for providing a parliamentary dimension to international cooperation. Clearly, today, there is a growing interaction between the UN and the world of parliaments.
With every participant being a vital aspect in this conference that happens every five years, Chignon said that conference is not only for IPU members, but opened for all due to the importance of its agenda this year.
"History to be made in couple of weeks with the adoption of the SDGs," said the IPU Chief, stating that the goals hold vital importance worldwide.
Meeting the press for the first time in New York, IPU President Saber Chowdhury said that it is an important year globally. " It is year where the UN celebrates its 70th anniversary, a year the Millennium Development Goals come to an end, and a year to embrace new set of goals." With the different high-level summits and life changing decision, it is a "defining year," Chowdhury expressed.
He told reporters that the SDGs being an ambitious agenda, it seeks for a brave new world where it leaves no one behind. Therefore, he added, it needs partnerships for it to become a reality and for the goals to be implemented as desired.
Governance, he added, is mentioned in goal 16 of the goals, therefore, it gives parliament and parliamentarians the context and ability to act.
IPU President said that the role of parliaments is a "vital one" in facilitating legislation as well as policy coherence. (end) mao.gta