On 22 May the BGIPU hosted a meeting with Foreign Office Minister, Jeremy Browne MP, to discuss the Foreign Office Emerging Powers Initiative (EPI). The Initiative was established in May 2010 to co-ordinate a cross-government strategy aimed at creating much deeper relationships with the emerging powers, in pursuit of UK security and prosperity objectives.
The aim of this delegation was to gain an understanding of Mexican issues in this election year, discuss trade, development, human rights and environmental issues, including energy and climate change. The delegation was very keen to understand the Federal nature of Mexico and thus travelled outside Mexico City to the State of Puebla. The delegation found this to be a very successful visit for all involved.
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
