Pakistan, Japan agree to improve parliamentary performance

ISLAMABAD/ TOKYO: The Senate of Pakistan and House of Representatives of Japan have agreed to strengthen parliamentary cooperation in 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 Secretary Senate Amjad Pervez Malik currently visiting Japan, met with Secretary General of the House of Representatives of Japanese Parliament and other high ranking officials.

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

The visit is sponsored by Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) under a MoU signed with Pakistan. The Geneva-based global inter-parliamentary institution is the first permanent forum for political multilateral negotiations.

During the meeting with Japanese counterpart, the secretary Senate informed about the overall parliamentary system as well as the recent developments.

He said that dynamics of functioning of the parliament are fast changing and the requirement 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 of Pakistan has devised a vibrant plan to improve institutional efficiency and provide excellent services to the members of Parliament.

The secretary Senate also informed about the vision and passion of the new elected leadership in the Senate and 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, secretary Senate invited the Japanese counterpart to send a delegation for participation in the upcoming meeting of APA Political Affairs Committee to be held in Gwadar.

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

Japanese secretary general appreciated the new initiatives of the Senate of Pakistan and agreed to further improve linkages to achieve excellence.