Birth of new Arab parliament
Regional, Politics, 12/27/2005

In the first session of the interim Arab parliament which kicked off at the Arab League in Cairo on Tuesday December 27, 2005, Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak described the birth of the first Arab collective parliament as a "historic moment" that is to open new horizons of joint Arab action.

An Egyptian government report noted that: The President said the birth of this parliament promotes inter-Arab parliamentary cooperation, supports MPs in dealing with the nation's issues, promotes the AL to have step forward towards development and gives birth to a new important agency that keeps abreast of the essence of this age.

Stressing the importance of the joint Arab action, Mubarak said that "the parliament that we launch today gives added value to the system of Arab joint action that we must build upon and promote."

Mubarak stressed that democracy, human rights, popular participation and the sovereignty of the law were not exclusive to one culture as they are a set of human norms and principles shared by all nations. He called for the need to spread awareness over the culture of dialogue, wider participation, respect of diverse opinion while at the same time clinging to the Arab identity and norms.

The decision to form the interim Arab parliament was taken during the Arab leaders' summit in Algiers, on March 2005, to pave the way for forming a permanent Arab Parliament.

On his part, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa considered today's session an example of tangible and clear development in Arab action performance, pointing out that the Arab Parliament would be a crucible for all political powers in Arab societies.

Moussa pointed out that the establishment of the Arab Parliament is a chain in a series of other activities, referring to the establishment of the Arab Court of Justice and the Arab Security Council.

Meanwhile, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said, in a word read on his behalf by Speaker of the Algerian Parliament Abdul Qadir bin Saleh, the inauguration of an Interim Arab Parliament sparked a glimpse of hope long-cherished by Arabs calling on all Arab countries to work on fulfilling their nations' aspirations.

Previous Stories:
  Arab parliamentarians conference on implementation of International Humanitarian Law   (11/25/2005)
  Arab Parliamentary Union decides to create an Arab parliament   (9/6/2004)
  Nashashibi: Major economic problems face the Arab states; stronger reform needed   (1/6/2004)
  Arab League - work group for boosting AL activities   (5/13/2003)
  Corrupt political elites and businessman kill economic development; Transparency International says   (9/23/2002)
  Importance of regular political and economic summits to address Arab issues   (3/23/2002)

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