RIYADH, 5 September 2005 — Saudi Arabia, along with other member states of Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union, on Wednesday will raise the question of Iraq and other issues regarding Middle East peace and stability at an international conference of parliamentarians in New York. The three-day conference, which will be attended by more than 200 speakers and heads of legislative bodies from around the globe, is organized by the 140-member Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
A delegation led by Shoura Council Deputy Chairman Dr. Saleh ibn Saud Al-Ali will represent Saudi Arabia at the conference. Prominent Shoura members and officials, including Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Orayer, Saud Al-Shammari and Mohammed Al-Saeed, will take part.
In a telephone interview from New York, Nour Eddine Bouchkouj, secretary-general of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (AIPU), said that a final document of issues and opinions would be presented there.
“This common document has been prepared by the Arab group as per the mandate of the IPU, which allows six geopolitical groups to play important roles in the functioning of the international body,” said Bouchkouj, who is Syrian.
“The Saudi delegates together with AIPU groups would also hold talks with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday. The talks will mainly focus on Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria and other regional issues,” said Bouchkouj. He said a special meeting of speakers of parliaments of Arab states would be convened Tuesday to prepare for the IPU conference.
More than 170 speakers and representatives of parliaments of different countries have arrived in New York for the event, which is expected to provide direct input to the meeting of the heads of state taking place at the same venue Sept. 14-19.
