"All delegations have agreed to set up an Asia-Africa parliamentary group as a concrete step to follow up our meetings and for better networking," Indonesias Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon said after leading a New Asian-African Partnership session.
Fadli noted that the formation of the Asia-Africa parliamentary group can be a milestone in sustainable cooperation for the brighter future of Asian and African countries.
"With the presence of the group, we will become stronger. Cooperation among Asian and African countries will bridge the gap in political, economic, and legal affairs. This will parallel what the executive does," he explained.
Fadli remarked that the Asian-African parliament will invite more members to be part of the formation of the group, and as the first step, an executive committee will be set up with several member countries to prepare the group.
"The number of participating countries is currently 33. We will invite more countries later. The next meeting will likely be held in Africa, but before that we will set up a small committee with several countries as members for its formation," he added.
Fadli Zon stressed that Indonesia is ready to host the parliamentary group so that the initiative can be realized quickly and made useful for countries in Asia and Africa.
"I think our Parliament (DPR) is ready. We also have the staff. What is important in the current reform era is communication, which can now be done by e-mails. Opportunity is open wide to increase cooperation in various fields," he observed.
Reporting by Satyagraha
(H-YH/INE)
EDITED BY INE/A014.
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
