CAIRO: Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem yesterday underscored necessity of pan-Arab meetings, namely at the parliamentary and grassroot levels for greater interaction among the nation's peoples. Addressing the fourth conference of Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU), Ghanem called upon decision makers in Arab states to set priorities in order and unify rhetoric towards key issues. Such an objective can be attained with continuous consultations, dialogue and brain storming, he added.
Ghanem indicated that he sensed deep distress when he examined the conference draft document with topics headlined as the crises of Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Lebanon. "I am very much sad and deeply worried not because these crises are many; we have been accustomed with this, but rather because we have regularly failed to establish stability in our states," he said, noting that these crises have overshadowed substantial issues, such as women and youth rights and democracy. "We do not have the luxury of addressing such key files in the shadow of instability and social insecurity in many of our states; such a very distressing paradox," he said. "We ought to set the priorities in order and act according to a high-level coordination mechanism; we ought to have single rhetoric as much as possible and this can only be achieved through continuous consultations and dialogue and brain storming," he stressed.
Ghanem had affirmed on Friday the necessity to tackle inter-Arab rifts and unify ranks of the nation's various peoples in the face of dangerous challenges. Ghanem said the convention's final statement affirmed the need to solidify the Arabs' ranks to face the very dangerous external challenges. The ideal avenue to attain these objectives is tackling the divisions among the Arabs and unifying the ranks "so we may become able to face the challenges." He indicated that the Kuwaiti delegation during the convention called for unifying stances among the Arabs at international quarters and events. He also called for working out a common strategy to strengthen the nation.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Arab Parliament Scouts Union and Chairman of Kuwaiti Scouts Society MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji affirmed firmness of the Kuwaiti position towards Arab issues, in regard to the Palestinian question, as well as expressing his pride of the Kuwaiti parliament's strong presence in various Arab and international parliamentary forums. Turaiji said that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the political leadership and the Kuwaiti parliament are in agreement on all Arab issues.
The participation of the Kuwaiti Parliamentary Division reflects support and steadfastness in attitudes towards various Arab issues, he added. In addition, he praised the influential role played by Speaker Ghanem and the General Secretariat of the National Assembly. Turaiji valued the outcome of the conference, which he attended as an observer and representative of the General Assembly of the Arab Parliamentarian Scout Federation, indicating that the conference was successful. - KUNA