Manama - Angola received this Friday, in Manama, capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the SADC Group's support to host the 147th General Assembly of the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU), to take place in October of the current year.
The support was expressed during the meeting of the SADC Group, which served to approve the documnent of the Kigali (Rwanda) meeting, held in October 2022, the report of the executive committee, the points of emergency on the situation in some countries in the region and filling vacancies in the organization.
In thid ambit, the Speaker of the National Assembly (Angolan parliament), Carolina Cerqueira, said in an interview with ANGOP that the support and vote of confidence of the members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is the recognition of Angola's role in the region.
Carolina Cerqueira said that the country has the human, material and technical conditions to host the next IPU assembly.
"Angola received a vote of confidence to honour the privilege of, 60 years later, a Portuguese-speaking country hosting the largest meeting of parliaments in the world. The last Portuguese-speaking country to host an event of this magnitude was Brazil", she asserted.
During the meeting, Angola also presented its candidacy to fill the vacancy in the SADC Youth Group.
The Speaker of the National Assembly added that everything will be done so that the country can reach this goal, in order to confirm the engagement of young Angolan MPs in strengthening the democratic rule of law, in reinforcing democracy and in the implementation of comprehensive, strong parliaments that correspond to the population's wishes.
Support for the DRC
On the sidelines of the SADC Group's meeting, Carolina Cerqueira held a meeting with the Democratic Republic of Congo's parliamentary delegation, headed by its Vice-Speaker, Andre Mbata, to address the current situation in the east of that country and bilateral cooperation between the two parliaments.
During the meeting, Carolina Cerqueira expressed full support and solidarity for an urgent and lasting peace that represents more stability for Central Africa, mainly in the Great Lakes sub-region, for regional security and to mitigate the suffering of local populations.
During the IPU's 146th General Assembly, parliamentarians will assess the organization's strategies on climate change, accountability at all levels, as well as the transformation of speeches into actions to combat climate change.
The approach also includes strengthening climate legislation to reduce emissions and support for a clean energy transition.
The IPU is made up of 178 national parliaments and 12 regional assemblies. It is currently the United Nations' main parliamentary interlocutor.
