Daily Times

The senate of Pakistan and House of Representatives of Japan has agreed to strengthen parliamentary cooperation in the areas of legislation and parliamentary practices to further improve parliamentary performance by sharing experiences.

In this regard, a delegation of senior officers of the senate, led by Senate Secretary Amjad Parvez Malik currently visiting Japan, held meeting with secretary general of the House of Representatives of Japanese Parliament and other high ranking officials of the Legislative Wings of the Parliament of Japan.

The delegation, which also includes Senate Adviser Justice (r) Muhammad Raza Khan and Senate Deputy Secretary Abdul Fattah Ujjan, is on a four day visit to study legislative support services of the Japanese parliament.

The visit is sponsored by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) under a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Pakistan and IPU.

During the meeting with the Japanese counterpart, the senate secretary informed about the overall parliamentary system as well as the recent developments. He said that the dynamics of the functioning of the parliament are fast changing and the requirement of the parliament in legislation has also increased and there is growing need for dedicated legislative drafting facility within the parliament. He underscored the need for enhancing the capacity of the parliamentary staff through frequent exchanges.

He said that the senate has devised a vibrant plan to improve institutional efficiency and provide excellent services to the parliamentarians.

The senate secretary also informed about the vision and passion of the newly elected leadership in the senate and the National Assembly for enhancing role of parliament in socio-economic development of the country.

He gave a detailed overview of the new initiatives introduced in the senate for enhancing institutional efficiency.

During the meeting, the senate secretary reiterated to the Japanese counterpart to send a delegation for participation in the upcoming meeting of APA Political Affairs Committee to be held in Gwadar, Pakistan.

Both sides exchanged views on a number of issues related to strengthening relationship between the two parliaments.

Japanese secretary general appreciated the new initiatives of the senate and agreed with the views of the senate secretary to further improve linkages to achieve excellence.

Published in Daily Times, September 27^th 2018.