PREPARATION OF 6th CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SAARC SPEAKERS AND PARLIAMENTARIANS IN FULL SWING.

THE CONFERENCE TO BE HELD FROM 4 to 6, NOVEMBER, 2012.
         
            Islamabad; November 2, 2012: The 6th Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians (CASSP) is going to be held in Islamabad from 4-6 November, 2012. The Speakers and Parliamentarians of the SAARC Region will participate in the Conference to discuss host of issues pertaining to regional cooperation, promotion of democratic values and good governance, meaningful participatory democracy in South Asia, targeting food security for the region and ensuring Parliament’s role in accomplishing MDGs. President Asif Ali Zardari will inaugurate the Conference in an impressive ceremony to be held in Aiwan-e-Sadr on 4th November, 2012.

            The delegates from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan and Bhutan are expected to participate in the conference. CASSP is a forum for exchange of ideas and information on parliamentary practices and procedures. Its main objectives are to strengthen people-to-people contacts with a view to achieving mutual understanding, trust and friendship among the peoples of the SAARC countries and also to promote contacts, coordinate and exchange experiences among Parliaments and Parliamentarians of the SAARC countries. It is also intended to support the work of SAARC and promote knowledge of its principles and activities among Parliamentarians of South Asia, besides cooperating in international forums in matters of common interest. Pakistan is the founding Member of the Association.

First Conference of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians was held at New Delhi in 1995, the Second CASSP was held at Islamabad in 1997, the Third CASSP was held at Dhaka – Bangladesh in 1999, the Fourth CASSP was held at Colombo – Sri Lanka in 2006, the Fifth CASSP was held at New Delhi – India in 2011.

Sixth Conference which the Hon. Speaker, Dr. Fehmida Mirza is hosting from November 4–6, 2012 has an important feature in terms of both deliberating on important agenda relating to Millennium Development Goals and the need for developing participatory democracy to reap its fruitful benefits as well as creating a conducive atmosphere between the countries of SAARC region through inviting the Lok Sabha Speaker who recently visited Pakistan on her invitation and gave new impetus to the relationship between the two countries.

The Speaker National Assembly, Dr. Fehmida Mirza also led a Parliamentary delegation to New Delhi to attend the Fifth Conference in July 2011. The presence of our Speaker in the neighboring country benefited the SAARC Region as a whole while there were meaningful interactions between and among the SAARC Speakers. The event pushed forward the composite dialogue between the two countries that ultimately contributed towards promoting better understanding between Pakistan and India and in a broader perspective the interaction covered the entire region also. Since, the Association provides people–to–people contact and Parliament–to–Parliament interface that can help in melting the ice in stalled relationship between neighbors as well as strengthening ties with the region at wider spectrum through activating the Association in which the Speaker of Pakistan played a pivotal role in sustaining continuity of the Parliamentary coordination between these countries.