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Delegation Reports
PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION FROM TUNISIA
- 5 to 10 February 2006
Delegation
Mr Thameur Saad – Leader of the Delegation
Head of the Political Affairs Committee
Mrs Nassima Ghanouchi
Member of the Committee for Social Affairs and Public Health
Mr Ameur Ben Abdallah
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
Mrs Samira Chaouchi
Member of the Union Populaire
Mr Mohamed Maamoun Hamdi
Administrator
The delegation, led by Mr Thameur Saad, arrived at London Heathrow on
Sunday 5, February. They were met by His Excellency Mr Mohamed Ghariani,
Ambassador to Tunisia, and Jim Rodgers, Deputy Secretary, British Group
IPU.
The official programme started on Monday with a visit to the British Library.
The delegates were shown exquisite Arabic manuscripts including a selection
of Korans and a rare early Tunisian cookery book. The delegates were then
given a short tour of the Tower of London before moving on to lunch at
Shepherd’s restaurant with Chris Doyle, Director of CAABU (Council
for Arab-British Understanding) and the three Co-Chairs, John Austin MP,
Crispin Blunt MP and Colin Breed MP.
After lunch the delegation met Dr Kim Howells MP, Foreign Office Minister
of State with responsibility for North Africa. Topics of discussions included
Iran, Iraq and the recent elections in the Palestinian Authority. They
also touched on terrorism in general and the global fight against it.
Meetings for the day ended with a presentation on parliamentary procedures
in the House of Commons by Liam Laurence Smyth, Clerk of the Overseas
Office.
A welcoming dinner for the delegation was held that evening at the Marriott
Hotel, County Hall and was hosted by Vice-Chair of the British Group,
Roger Berry MP.
Tuesday began with a tour of the Palace of Westminster led by David Wilshire
MP and was followed by a courtesy call on Sir Michael Lord MP, Deputy
Speaker of the House of Commons.
Sir Philip Mawer gave an excellent presentation on his role as Parliamentary
Commissioner for Standards and the work of the Select Committee for Standards
and Privileges. The delegates were particularly interested to learn about
the extent of British MPs immunity from prosecution.
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, Government Spokesperson for the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office, hosted the government lunch at Lancaster House. The
delegation went on to visit the BBC World Service. Here, they were informed
of plans to increase the BBC’s activities in Tunisia and North Africa.
The final meeting of the day was with Mike Gapes MP, Chair of the Foreign
Affairs Select Committee. Once again Iran, Iraq and the Middle East were
on the agenda. In the evening, His Excellency Mr Mohamed Ghariani, Ambassador
to Tunisia, hosted a reception at the Tunisian Embassy.
On Wednesday, the two-hour round table discussions meeting was chaired
by Mark Fisher MP, Chair of the British-Tunisian All Party Parliamentary
Group, and was well attended by other UK parliamentarians. The agenda
included discussions on:
• The impact of the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet,
Mohammed
• Parliamentary reforms including the recently established second
chamber in Tunisia which is limited to 2/3 the size of the lower chamber
and the reform of the House of Lords
• Tunisian-EU relations including human rights and political prisoners.
The delegation observed Prime Minister’s Question Time from the
Speaker’s Private Gallery. This was followed by lunch hosted by
the Rt Hon Lord McNally, Treasurer of the British-Tunisian All Party Group.
After lunch, the delegates met Lord Dubs and other members of the Lords’
Committee for EU Enlargement. The delegates expressed their concern that
the EU’s focus on enlargement in Eastern Europe has slowed the development
of co-operation between the EU and Tunisia.
At the last minute, a meeting with the British Council was also arranged.
The delegates were keen to encourage the British Council to expand student
exchange schemes and to increase the number of Chevening scholars. They
would also like to see more cultural exchanges.
The delegation had an early start on Thursday morning taking the train
from Paddington to Cardiff. On arrival, they were given a briefing on
the Welsh National Assembly by Dianne Bevan, Deputy Clerk of the Welsh
Parliament. Mrs Ghanouchi and Mrs Chaouchi were particularly interested
to learn that half of the Assembly Members are women. Dr John Marek AM,
Deputy Presiding Officer, hosted lunch for the delegation which was also
attended by other Assembly Members.
After lunch, the delegates became the first foreign parliamentary delegation
to visit the new Welsh Assembly Building which is to be officially opened
on 1 March 2006. They were impressed by the open design and the architect’s
theme of transparency.
In the evening, the delegation sampled some traditional Welsh cuisine
at the Armless Dragon Restaurant in Cardiff and were joined by Wayne David
MP (MP for Caerphilly) and Sam Smith, Honorary Consul for Tunisia.
The last day of the programme began with a short tour of Cardiff. The
delegates then met Wayne David MP and Councillor John Bevan, Mayor of
Caerphilly at Caerphilly Castle. The delegation admired the leaning tower
of Caerphilly whilst learning more about Mr David’s constituency.
The delegates just had time for a short visit to the constituency office
where they could see at first hand how British MPs operate and interact
with their constituents. The delegation then returned by train to Reading
and departed on a flight from Heathrow on Friday afternoon.
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