Chair of the APPG for Macedonia, Karen Lumley MP, led a delegation of UK Parliamentarians including Stuart Andrew MP, Gemma Doyle MP and Clive Betts MP to the Republic of Macedonia from 24 to 27 June 2014 with the aim of further developing and strengthening links between parliamentary counterparts in the United Kingdom and Macedonia.
The Officers of the All-Party Group entertained the outgoing Turkish Ambassador to a lunch at Westminster on 18 June 2014. This lunch aimed to recognize the great work undertaken to advance and further consolidate close relations between Turkey and the UK.
In partnership with CPA UK, BGIPU co-hosted an international parliamentary event on the fringe of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict on 12 June which was chared by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger. The event – “Implementing the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative” – focused on concrete actions that could be taken by parliamentarians, bringing together parliamentary delegates to the Summit, British MPs and civil society experts to share examples on legislation, private members’ bills, and committee work aimed at addressing sexual violence issues.
In close cooperation with the APPG for Portugal, we hosted a parliamentary delegation from Portugal to the Palace of Westminster from 9-11 June 2014. The visit served to highlight the long-standing and historic nature of relations between Portugal and the United Kingdom and the many common perspectives and interests shared by parliamentarians in both countries. Portuguese delegates expressed strong support for the UK remaining an EU member, including as an active partner for Portugal and others in pursuing EU reform efforts.
A joint BGIPU Haiti APPG delegation led by APPG Chair, Lord Griffiths, visited Haiti from 26 to 30 May 2014. The delegation met President Martelly, the President of the Senate and President of Chamber of Deputies at a time when tensions between these branches of government posed obstacle to consolidating democracy in the country. The delegation also met with Haitian civil society groups and representatives of the UK, Canada, EU, US and the UN peacekeeping operation, MINUSTAH to better determine potential areas where the UK Parliament might be able to assist Haitian counterparts in response to their visit to London in late 2013.
Neil Parish MP, Chairman of the APPG for Slovenia, led a delegation of UK parliamentarians including Ms Sheryll Murray MP, Mr Angus MacNeil MP and Lord Harrison to the Republic of Slovenia from 28 to 30 May 2014. The visit aimed to strengthen economic and diplomatic ties between the UK and Slovenia and build on the already firm friendship between the legislatures.
More than 360 MPs and parliamentary staff from 90 national parliaments, including the UK led by the Speaker of the House of Commons, attended the 2014 World e-parliament Conference in Seoul from 8-10 May exploring how to make information and communications technology (ICT) work better for democracy. The Conference, jointly organised by IPU and National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, built on progress made by parliaments in the use of ICT in recent years and looked at how to overcome current hurdles in parliamentary use of new technologies.
The High-level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation took place in Mexico City on 15-16 April 2014 with BGIPU represented by Lord Chidgey and Lord McConnell. Attended by 1500 development leaders from 130 countries, the Mexico City HLM brought together national government representatives, parliamentarians, civil society groups and other organisations to share knowledge about governance, transparency, improving domestic resource mobilisation and broader development co-operation questions.
The BGIPU Chair, Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP, led a delegation to Poland from 31 March to 4 April, the first by a formal Parliamentary delegation since 1996. Key issues during the visit were the bi-lateral relationship, in the future of the EU and our respective positions and developments affecting Ukraine and the broader implications for European security. The delegation met with parliamentary counterparts, key government officials and included a visit to Krakow to learn more about inter-governmental relations between the central government and the regions.
The BGIPU hosted a inter-parliamentary visit from the General Assembly of Uruguay from 24-27 March 2014 led by Mrs Maria Elena Laurnaga of the Chamber of Deputies. The delegation underscored that the Uruguay Parliament strongly supported efforts to deepen relations with the United Kingdom based on the long-standing and mutually beneficial ties existing between both countries and our shared values and common interests.
