Events

The full advance programme of meetings being convened globally by the Inter-Parliamentary Union can be accessed here and BGIPU will call for nominations of interested MPs/Peers to form UK delegations for such events through the All Party Whip Notice and regular all member e-mails.  UK participation in IPU activities without formal approval and selection by the BGIPU Executive Committee is not permitted.

In addition, the BGIPU regularly hosts lectures  and meetings within the Palace of Westminster when Parliament is sitting on current topical issues in international affairs. Details of upcoming BGIPU events will be listed below and members’ nominations for participating in delegations will be sought through the All Party Notice circulated by the Government Whips Office during sitting times.

As a fully-funded parliamentary body, we can only reply to queries on how to participate in official BGIPU activities from MPs and Peers or parliamentary staff using internal parliamentary e-mail addresses.  More general enquiries about our work can be directed to bgipu@parliament.uk


 

EUROPEAN AMBASSADORS’ ROUNDTABLE | 29 APRIL | 16:00 IPU ROOM

BGIPU is hosting a roundtable with Ambassadors from various European countries in order to discuss the theme of Defence, NATO and European Security. The meeting will be chaired by Alex Sobel MP and we have confirmed attendance from the Ambassadors of Estonia, Finland, Germany and Sweden. Members wishing to attend are asked to contact Henry Collison at collisonh@parliament.uk.

BBC WS/BGIPU RECEPTION TO MARK WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY | 30 APRIL | 18:00 SPEAKER’S HOUSE STATE ROOMS

BBC World Service and British Group Interparliamentary Union are hosting a reception to mark World Press Freedom Day. Baroness Chapman of Darlington, Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and the Caribbean and Jonathan Munro, Global Director and Deputy CEO of BBC News are confirmed to speak with more TBC. Members wishing to attend are asked to contact Henry Collison at collisonh@parliament.uk.

MENA REGION AMBASSADORS ROUNDTABLE | 12 MAY | 16:00 IPU ROOM

BGIPU is hosting a roundtable with Ambassadors from the MENA region to discuss a range of issues across the region. We are hoping to host the Ambassadors from Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq (depending on availabilities). Members wishing to attend are asked to contact Mathilde Ollivo at ollivom@parliament.uk.

PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION FROM JORDAN | W/C 12 MAY

BGIPU plans to host a delegation of Jordanian Parliamentarians during the week commencing 12 May.  Members wishing to meet this delegation are asked to contact Mathilde Ollivo at ollivom@parliament.uk.

CALLING ALL MEMBERS AND STAFF WITH FOREIGN LANGUAGES – AND THOSE KEEN TO LEARN!

To help us welcome our visiting delegations it would be incredibly useful to know if Members and staff have any foreign languages – please contact Dominique Rees at reesd@parliament.uk to register any language skills.

For those who are keen to practice their language skills we also offer informal lunchtime foreign language conversation sessions.  We invite Members and staff to meet in the IPU room and divide into groups depending on level of fluency for a very non-intimidating, relaxed and fun language practice!

PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE ON INTERFAITH DIALOGUE | 19-21 JUNE| ITALY

The IPU is hosting the second Parliamentary Conference on “Interfaith Dialogue: “Strengthening trust and embracing hope for our common future”, which will take place from 19 to 21 June 2025 in Rome, Italy. Members wishing to express interest should contact Rhiannon Edwards at edwardsrl@parliament.uk