Inter-Parliamentary Union - British Group - PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION FROM TUNISIA


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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.