Rawlings Off To Tanzania, China

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Created on Monday, 07 May 2012 00:00

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President Rawlings will speak extensively on the topic, ‘Government and Opposition: Roles and Responsibilities’ when the workshop opens on Monday, May 7.

The three-day forum will bring together parliamentarians from governing and opposition parties of Commonwealth countries in East Africa as well as selected resource persons, civil society and regional and international organisations.

The aim of the workshop is to give participants an opportunity to discuss how government and opposition parties can engage more effectively with each other and with civil society to promote democracy, political stability and socio-economic prosperity in their countries and the broader region.

The Speaker of the Tanzania National Assembly, Ann Makinda and the Deputy General Secretary of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Mrs. Masire-Mwamba, will chair the workshop.

From Tanzania, President Rawlings heads for Tianjin, China to attend the 30th Plenary Meeting of the Interaction Council which takes place from May 9 to 12.

The three-day meeting will bring together more than 20 former heads of state and government, leading academics and policy makers to deliberate four main themes: the present state of the world, the global financial crisis, global security imperatives (including nuclear disarmament) and the global water crisis.

The Interaction Council has been at the forefront of many prominent issues, most notably the 1997 drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities, a document that counterbalances the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the recent Hiroshima Declaration, a powerful plea for the abolishment of nuclear weapons.
 
In addition to the roundtable discussions, Interaction Council members willmeet with Chinese government officials including Premier Wen Jiabao and havethe opportunity to engage in bilateral meetings.

Established in 1983, the Interaction Council of Former Heads of State and Government is an international organization whose objective is to address long-term, global issues facing humankind. Co-Chaired by the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien (Prime Minister of Canada, 1993-2003) and Dr. Franz Vranitzky (Chancellor of Austria, 1986-1997), the Council’s membership is comprised of more than thirty former heads of state who volunteer their time to develop proposals for action and submit them directly to national and international decision-makers.

Source: JJR WordPress