Pakistan to train Saudi parliamentarians, says National Assembly Speaker

ISLAMABAD: Improved cooperation between Pakistan’s parliament and the Saudi Shoura Council will have an impact on the whole course of bilateral relations, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser told Arab News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
“We have signed a memorandum of understanding between the National Assembly of Pakistan and Saudi Shoura Council on Dec. 23 in Riyadh,” Qaiser said, adding that the agreement forges collaboration between the standing committees of the Pakistani parliament and of the Shoura Council.
They will collaborate to “directly benefit each and every field, as we have a standing committee for each ministry,” and the collaboration will lead to policy changes and enhance cooperation on the ministerial level, as every minister is a member of the committee related to his or her institution.
“Under the MoU, Pakistan will provide training to Saudi Shoura Council members at the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Studies (PIPS),” Qaiser said.
Economic ties are expected to improve through the collaboration as the standing committees for commerce “will work closely to enhance bilateral trade,” Qaiser said, citing very low current trading volumes between the two countries. The Assembly and Shoura “will make a combined standing committee and prepare recommendations for policy changes on both sides, which will be subsequently implemented by the respective commerce ministries.” The committee will also identify potential export goods.
He said that cultural exchanges as well would get a boost as Shoura chairman Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Sheikh has shown great interest in enhancing cultural relations, especially as Pakistanis are historically and religiously familiar with Saudi culture.
“Both countries will also closely consult on legislative procedures under this MoU,” Qaisar said, adding that he has already started meetings with parliamentary leaders of different political parties in the National Assembly to get the agreement with Shoura “fully functional within the next few months.”
He said that during his last visit discussions took place on holding an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers session on Kashmir in Islamabad, as Saudi Arabia supports Pakistan’s approach to the situation in the Indian-administered territory.
“Pakistan always maintained that Kashmir issue should be resolved according to UN resolutions,” Qaiser said, adding that Saudi King Salman agreed with the stance and also expressed his desire for the OIC session to take place.
However, since tensions are developing in the Middle East, the meeting will have to be postponed.