The Ambassador of The Republic Of Kazakhstan To The Pakistan, H.E Mr. Yerzhan Kistafin Visited The International Parliamentarians’ Congress (IPC) Secretariat in Islamabad
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Pakistan H.E Mr. Yerzhan Kistafin, paid an official visit to the International Parliamentarians’ Congress (IPC) Secretariat Islamabad. H.E. Mr. Yerzhan Kistafin was given a brief introduction of IPC, its role and achievements acquired so far, which he highly acknowledged and appreciated. Moreover, Secretary General-IPC Senator Sitara Ayaz admired the broad diplomatic and political career of the honourable Ambassador and declared his IPC’ visit, a landmark opportunity for future collaboration with parliamentary cooperation. The Ambassador H.E Mr. Yerzhan Kistafin showed his great acknowledgement and appreciation to the contribution of IPC in the various areas of common interests such as, climate change, human rights, food and health security, sustainable human development, interfaith harmony, trade and developmental cooperation etc. He was very grateful for the continuous support of Chairman Senate Senator Sadiq Sanjrani. He further agreed to continue such fruitful interaction with the IPC in the future and take this meeting to the multiple dimensional cooperation. In the end, a comprehensive visit to IPC Secretariat was given to His Excellency and souvenirs were exchanged between SG IPC and Ambassador H.E Mr. Yerzhan Kistafin. The Republic of Kazakhstan is one of the major countries of Central Asia, having an active role in a number of regional organizations, therefore, such a high-level visit will have immense positive implications in the various areas of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
The President of International Parliamentarians’ Congress (IPC) Appointed Honorable Ms. Sitara Ayaz As The New Secretary General, IPC
Honourable Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif has recently been appointed as the Special Assistant on Information in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa KPK Government and due to his engagements on the new post, President of IPC, Senator Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani appointed the former Senator Ms. Sitara Ayaz as the new Secretary General IPC. Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif gave valuable services to IPC during his tenure and played a significant role in bringing IPC to this level. IPC highly acknowledges and admires his efforts and contributions and also extends him good wishes with his new responsibilities in the KPK government. Honorable Sitara Ayaz has a wide experience of work in a variety of fields like climate change, environmental issues, and human rights. The addition of Ms. Sitara Ayaz to IPC will have immense positive implications in the future, and IPC is eagerly looking forward to taking benefits from the vast experience of the newly appointed Secretary General Ms. Sitara Ayaz. We warmly welcome her and wish her a wonderful time in the IPC to work as a team and take IPC to a new level of the horizon.
The Speaker of The Council of Representatives of Bahrain Along With Distinguished Parliamentary Delegation Visited International Parliamentarians’ Congress Secretariat Islamabad
The Speaker of the Council of Representatives of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Her Excellency, Ms. Fawzia Bint Abdullah Zainal, along with a parliamentary delegation visited the International Parliamentarians’ Congress IPC, Secretariat Islamabad today 19th November 2021. The parliamentary delegation further comprised His Excellency Counselor Rashid bin Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Bounejama Secretary General of the Council of Representatives, H.E. Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Sisi Al-Buainain, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security Committee of Council of Representatives, H. E. Mr. Ammar Ahmed Albannai Chairman of the Standing Select Committee on Human Rights of Council of Representatives, H. E. Syed Falah Hashem Falah, H. E. Mr. Ghazi Faisal Al Rahma Deputy Chairman Standing Select Committee on Human Rights, and H. E. Mr. Mahmood Maki Salman. Honourable Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif Secretary General IPC and Mr. Ijlal Ali Khan Assistant Secretary general IPC warmly welcome the Speaker and her delegation at the IPC Secretariat. Apprising the role of IPC to the Speaker, IPC President also gave her and a delegation a complete visit to IPC secretariat building. While Expressing gratitude for the hospitality rendered to Bahrain’s parliamentary delegation, the Speaker greatly acknowledged and appreciated the efforts of IPC in engaging the world parliamentarians through this platform. Moreover, she highly admired the role of IPC in promoting democratic norms, sustainable peace, cooperation and multilateral interactions among various stakeholders on different forums. Similarly, the representatives from both sides agreed and assured to continue mutual coordination in the future for curbing the traditional and non-traditional issues at the regional and international levels. She conveyed earnest regards to the IPC President for providing such a platform to Parliamentarians for constructive engagement of the international community and wished good luck for its impending endeavours. The IPC and Council of Representatives of the kingdom of Bahrain are two unique institutions of their own nature and their engagement and collaboration on such a high level will greatly help in promoting long-lasting peace, prosperity and cooperation in the future.
MEETING OCCUR BETWEEN THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO PAKISTAN) AND INTERNATIONAL PARLIAMENTARIAN’S CONGRESS ON THE ISSUE OF ROAD SAFETY
Ms. Dr Maryam Mallick, Technical Advisor Disabilities, Road Safety, And Injury Prevention of World Health Organization Pakistan visited IPC. A fruitful meeting was held between Dr. Maryam Mallick from WHO-Pakistan and Mr. Ijlal Ali Khan IPC to discuss a number of areas of mutual interest including the various aspects of road safety and its implementation. Similarly, both sides addressed the issues of disabilities and its connection with lack of road safety. Moreover, they shared the desire to work on road safety on various levels to make sure maximum coordination and cooperation in the future together. They also assured cooperation to contain disabilities by effective road safety. Road safety is getting immense significance day by day not only nationally but internationally as well, therefore, the collective efforts between the two organizations will have tremendous significance regarding the said topic.
President of Arab Parliament H.E Adel Abdulrahman Al-Asoumi visited International Parliamentarians’ Congress, signed a MOU and a joint Communique
The three-member delegation led by Arab Parliament President H.E Adel Abdulrahman Al-Asoumi is in Islamabad on a five-day official visit at the invitation of the President of International Parliamentarians Congress-IPC and Senate chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani. The other delegation members include H.E Mr. Abdel wahab Moawada from the Republic of Yemen and H.E Saleh Mohamed Awed Naser from the State of Palestine. The delegation visited the IPC secretariate in Islamabad on 2nd August 2021 and was warmly welcomed by the IPC President Senator Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani and Secretary General IPC Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif. The visit was begun by a signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and a Joint Communique between the Arab Parliament and IPC to develop and strengthen parliamentary relations and work in unison with IPC to resolve the global issues the world is facing and to move towards the development of bilateral cooperation. Then, The President of IPC Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani gave a brief introduction of IPC to the delegation, explaining to him the notion of the existence of IPC. The conceptional idea was appreciated by the AP President and he shared that he is delighted to see that such an organization is headquartered in Pakistan and working for the world parliamentarians from here. Moreover, the Secretary General then explained to him the purpose of the IPC along with its aims and objectives. The achievements of IPC that include the accreditation of the international election observation mission to observe the Parliamentary elections of the United Kingdom, Jordan, and the Netherlands were shared with the delegation and the reports. The AP President appreciated the achievement of IPC and wishes IPC good luck to secure more success in future and also commit to supporting us in achieving IPC goals. Later, the current situation of Pakistan and the Arab world including Palestine was also discussed to share the views. On a concluding note, the Secretary General IPC gave souvenirs to the delegations and said that he is very grateful to them for a kind visit to IPC Secretariate and looking forward to productive, profound and mutual cordial relations. Image Gallery
Senator Kauda Babar became a member of International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace (IPTP)
Member of International Parliamentarians’ Congress Honorable Senator Kauda Babar became a member of International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace (IPTP), a representative body of Global Council for Tolerance and Peace (GCTP). He was invited on the 6th session of IPTP organized by GCTP in Montenegro but due to COVID-19 Visa restrictions he was unable to travel and shared his message/views for the session.
Chair of Milli Majlis (National Assembly) Azerbaijan, H.E Ms Sahiba Gafarova, appointed as the Vice-President of International Parliamentarians’ Congress (IPC) Islamabad
The Chair of the Milli Majlis (National Assembly) of Azerbaijan, H.E Sahiba Gafarova appointed as the Vice President of the International Parliamentarians Congress IPC. The chair of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan, H.E Sahiba Gafarova is PhD Philology and a Professor holds the title of Honored Teacher. She is authored a number of textbooks, instruction manuals, monographs and academic articles. She commands the English and Russian languages. She chaired the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Subcommittee against Racism and Xenophobia in 2012-2014 and the Subcommittee on Gender Equality in 2014-2015. She served as a political coordinator of the Parliamentary Network Women Free from Violence as well as the chief speaker on the prevention of violence against women during 2015-2017. In 2016-2018, she was a member of the PACE Bureau and Chair of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons. Besides, she headed the Azerbaijani delegation to the EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly in 2018-2020. At present, Excellency heads the delegations of Azerbaijan to the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking Countries and to the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. We warmly welcome H.E Ms. Sahiba Gafarova on becoming the Vice president of IPC and the Chairperson of the Committee on the “Election observation mission”.
Newly appointed Ambassador of Bulgaria to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, H.E Ms. Irena Gancheva, visited the International Parliamentarians’ Congress (IPC) Secretariat in Islamabad
The Ambassador of Bulgaria to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan H.E Ms Irena Gancheva visited International Parliamentarians’ Congress (IPC) on an invitation of Assistant Secretary General IPC Mr. ljlal Ali Khan. Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif-Secretary General IPC and Mr Ijlal Ali Khan-Assistant Secretary General IPC gave a warm welcome to H.E Ms Irena Gancheva at the IPC secretariat. Secretary General IPC delineated the IPC’s roles and its objectives to the Honorable Ms Ambassador and shared important thematic areas on which IPC has been working, including Election Observation Mission. H.E. Ms Irena Gancheva appreciated the role of IPC and its election observation missions around the world. Moreover, she shared her career specifics and highlight the importance of people-to-people interaction in order to strengthen bilateral relations. She added that she will support IPC in every possible capacity and wishes to join hands in future endeavours. The visit concluded with the exchange of souvenirs between Ms Ambassador and Secretary General IPC. She also explained the historic and cultural symbolism of the souvenir and briefed about the Ministry of tourism-Bulgaria, while sharing a tourism booklet. In the end, she invited Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif-Secretary General IPC and Mr Ijlal Ali Khan-Assistant Secretary General IPC to visit Bulgarian Embassy.
International Parliamentarians’ Congress (IPC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) in a virtual meeting
A virtual meeting was held between the Secretary General Jonghyun Choe of Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) and Secretary General Muhammad Ali Saif of the International Parliamentarians’ Congress (IPC) to sign an MOU, on 31 May 2021. Both the SGs shared their vision and endeavoured to work together. The Association of World Election Bodies A-WEB is the world’s largest international organization in the field of election management. It currently comprises 118 election management bodies (EMBs) from 108 countries. It works to foster the efficiency and effectiveness of conducting free, fair and transparent, and participative elections worldwide. IPC endeavors to establish a worldwide network of individual Members of Parliaments across countries, who voluntarily aim to work in unison to perpetually develop cooperation, synergy, and strategies across parliaments for achieving a prosperous and peaceful world through effective independent interaction among parliamentarians. IPC comprises six committees, one of which is the Committee on Monitoring and Observation of Elections in the World which enables IPC to monitor and observe the elections held in the world to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections and to seek guidance from the country’s electoral procedures. In this manner, IPC and A-WEB hold immense importance of mutual collaboration and cooperation of guidance to achieve their respective mandate and strategic objectives of strengthening the existing vision and mission of both organizations under: 1. Election Observation 2. Research/Publication 3. Joint seminars/workshops 4. Cross promotional activities
Djibouti Visit Report and Message of the President, IPC
Djibouti is a country in East Africa which by its geographical location, connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, is pivotal to intercontinental trade. It is considered as the gateway to the Horn of Africa & other East African countries giving it strategic importance. In 2017, the state of Pakistan initiated its ‘Look Africa Policy’ under the intention to further deepen its historical and political ties with the states in Africa by expanding its diplomatic missions across and instituting trade activities that are mutually beneficial for all stakeholder involved. The vision behind the ‘Look Africa Policy’ is not only strategic but also has the intent of human development and prosperity as its foundation. The IPC is a transnational network of parliamentarians who have joined hands to play a proactive role in promoting peace and sustainable development through cooperation and dialogue. The IPC aims to make collective efforts for strengthening democracy across the world by creating synergies among parliamentarians. The agenda of IPC is not limited to the strengthening of democracy, the IPC intends to bring together MPs to make collective efforts for human development and prosperity. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Djibouti had very limited diplomatic and trade interaction in history although both states hold tremendous potential in the context. Hence, keeping in mind Pakistan’s ‘Look Africa Policy Initiative’, the International Parliamentarians Congress (IPC) invited Honorable Mohamed Ali Houmed, President of National Assembly of the Republic of Djibouti to Pakistan, which he graciously accepted. The purpose behind the invitation was not only diplomatic but also to introduce IPC and its work to Honorable Mohamed Ali Houmed. Following the invitation Honorable Mohamed Ali Houmed arrived in Pakistan along with his 7-member delegation. The delegation during their stay in Pakistan met with all important stakeholders of the state and discussed the matter of mutual interest. It is with deep honor and pleasure that I state that the visit was highly successful and proved to be canonical in starting a new chapter of the Djibouti-Pakistan relationship. The delegation from Djibouti during their stay extended an invitation to IPC to visit Djibouti following which a three-member delegation of IPC visited the Republic of Djibouti in January 2021. The visit by IPC delegation was the first official visit of a Pakistani delegation to the Republic. During the visit, the delegation had the opportunity to meet top government office-bearers as well as the Djiboutian Naval force. I take the opportunity to present this report, which states down the details of IPC visit to the Republic of Djibouti and the matters discussed therein. Senator Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani President International Parliamentarians’ Congress (IPC) Note: The report is available to download under the reports and publication section.