The Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) on Wednesday adopted resolutions on challenging issues of environment, poverty eradication, women empowerment and education being faced by the Asian countries.
The resolutions were adopted on the concluding session of a two-day meeting of Standing Committee of APA on Economic and Sustainable Development.
The APA members belonging to different countries in a climate resolution said appropriate international response is needed to accelerate the reduction of global greenhouses gas emissions.
The resolution underlined the necessity of a comprehensive and long-term strategy to combat desertification and marine life deterioration, thus improving living conditions of the people in arid, semi-arid and coastal areas.
The resolution on poverty eradication said that each country must take primary responsibility for its own development and that the role of national policies and strategies cannot be over emphasised in the poverty eradication.
It said that poverty eradication is important to combat international terrorism, women and children abasement and drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, sea piracy and transitional crimes.
The resolution of ‘education for all’ emphasised ensuring efforts to enroll the out of school children and equip them with education.
The resolution of women empowerment called for collective efforts to ensure gender equality and equal rights for women and creating an environment for them to play their positive role in nation building.
The resolutions will be discussed in the APA meeting at Cambodia by December.
During the inaugural session of the event, Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq said Asian countries face challenges related to health, education, poverty, economy, energy, water and human rights and the role of APA is vital to cope with such challenges.
The speaker said exchange of parliamentary delegations must be a regular activity for enhancing people-to-people relations.
He also emphasised the need to give facilities to the traders for promoting business activity in the Asian region and taking steps for ensuring economic equality.
Addressing on the occasion, Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani said the success of APA meeting would help achieve targets of development in the Asian countries.
The APA resolutions reflecting the Asian vision will hopefully prove helpful for poverty eradication from the Asian countries.
“Asian countries are making an effort to bring economic stability and peace which can only be achieved through unity,” he said.
“What I believe is that the future of Asia lies within Asia and we have to stop depending on West,” he added.
He said the sufferings and dreams of the Asian countries are collective and interlinked.
“Asian dream is sinking and swimming together so we have to become strength of each other,” he said.
APA Deputy Secretary General on Economic and Sustainable Development Ali Khorram briefed the participants of the objectives of the forum.
The APA secretary general gave presentation on implementation of resolutions on ‘Financial Affairs: Ensuring Efforts for Economic Growth, The role of APA Parliaments to adopt Legislation in Supporting Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and Asian Integrated Energy Market’ on the first day.
