The Delegation to Morocco provided an opportunity or UK Parliamentarians to witness first hand changes effected in Morocco by the Arab Spring, the new Constitution and meet the new Parliamentarians elected to the House of Representatives in November 2011. The delegation met with the Speakers of both Houses of Parliament, the Moroccan investment agency and the British Council, among others.
The most important words uttered at the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness came from Lee Myung-bak, the President of the Republic of Korea. Fifty years ago when he was a child and Korea was a war ravaged country, it needed aid. Today it’s the 13th largest economy in the world, the second fastest growing economy in the OECD and an aid donor. That single statement confirms that despite the complexity of aid, despite the myriad cultures, despite the challenges that are presented from clean water to conflict to corruption, aid works.
Our visit to Alamar was one of the highlights of the trip to Cuba. It is an example of how the country has moved away, be necessity, from large scale agriculture on state farms which relied heavily on imported inputs on to a smaller scale system that is more organic and offers real food security. It consists of 25 hectares and is a non state co operative established some 14 years ago.
We succeeded in covering a broad spectrum of special interests from an ecumenical Evangelical Seminary to a school for blind children to the Habana Zoo.
The 183 member countries of the WTO were largely represented. The conference agenda was full with many working sessions competing in parallel and dealing with current trade challenges: ‘Made in the World’ labelling, the Arab Spring, the Doha Round and many other issues such as sustainable energy, food security and intellectual property rights
Our visit to Chile in July 2011 must have been one of the most detailed and comprehensive itineraries that a delegation from the IPU-British Group has undertaken in many years. Our visit coincided with celebrations to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Chilean National Congress which is based in Chile’s second city and Pacific port of Valparaiso.
The purpose of the visit was to broaden and strengthen relations between Parliament and the National People’s Congress, and provide an opportunity for the All Party Parliamentary China Group to demonstrate the work it undertakes to support and develop the UK-China bilateral relationship, as well as deepening understanding of the UK Parliament.
The purpose of the conference was threefold: to enhance the transparency of the WTO and hold it accountable to ‘legislators as elected representatives of the people’; to create a contact between the WTO and constituents at home; and to enable discussions between parliamentarians and WTO representatives
In cooperation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the UN convened a Parliamentary Hearing on Towards Economic Recovery: Rethinking Development, Retooling Global Governance at UN Headquarers in New York from 3 to 4 December 2010. Parliamentarians from around 70 countries were able to discuss key opportunities and challenges for ensuring sustainable economic development with a particular focus on current institutions of global governance and how they might need to be adapted to better respond to current global economic conditions.
Calls for a trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur – South America’s version of the Common Market – were top of the list in discussions between Uruguayan politicians and a visiting British delegation recently. In a succession of meetings, they covered a wide range of issues including the provision of a base for British Antarctic Survey ships and more co-operation between universities in the two countries.
