(MENAFN - Arab News) Parliamentary heads of the G20 nations will meet here on Feb. 24 to discuss a range of regional and international issues within the framework of a parliamentary consultation process that was started by the G20 member nations in Canada in 2010.
This announcement coincides with the first ever meeting of the G20 foreign ministers in Mexico on Sunday, which will be attended by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nizar Obaid Madani from the Saudi side.
"The high-profile conference of G20 speakers will kick off in Riyadh on Feb. 24, while the formal sessions will start the next day," said Saleh Al-Namla, a senior member of the Shoura Council. The conference of the G20 speakers will focus on global security and stability as well as sustainable economic growth and international cooperation on regional and international issues of concerns.
Al-Namla, who will present a paper at the conference, said that the event will last for three days. The conference, which seeks parliamentary solutions to a host of global issues, will focus on the role of energy for sustainable economic growth and need for global cultural and religious dialogue. The agenda also includes a detailed discussion on how to boost parliamentary cooperation for peace and security, and how to help poor countries across the globe.
On the participation of speakers from G20 member nations, another Shoura member said that parliamentary leaders and delegates from more than 26 countries including G20 nations will attend the consultative event. "We are very happy to be the host," said the Shoura member, adding that the meeting is now being held annually to promote parliamentary cooperation among the member states. He said that "more people than ever are concerned about global security issues and the parliamentary heads will discuss this issue in detail."
The uprisings in the Middle East has also spread the feeling that no one nation can be isolated in maintaining security and that international cooperation is essential, he added, while referring to the Saudi participation in the G20 ministerial meeting in the Mexican coastal resort of Los Cabos on Sunday. Madani is leading the Saudi delegation to this two-day meeting. This first meeting of G20 foreign ministers will discuss pressing global issues including trans-national crime, climate change and food security.
The meeting will be attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. Other G20 countries including France, China, Brazil and India would be represented at different levels. Mexico is the current chair of the G20 and the G20 summit would be hosted on June 18-19 in Mexico.
