With Egypt's Participation, 5th World Conference of Parliament Speakers Ends in Austria

The Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, held in the Austrian capital Vienna, concluded its activities today.

A high-level Egyptian parliamentary delegation headed by Counselor Dr. Hanafi Gebaly, Speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives, had participated in the conference, which was held between 5 and 8 September.

The Egyptian delegation included: Counselor Ahmed Manna Amin, Secretary-General of the House of Representatives, Karim Darwish, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the House of Representatives, Dr. Abdel Hai Ebeid, Chairman of the Foreign, Arab, and African Affairs Committee in the Senate.

Over the last two days, the conference's meetings witnessed a strong Egyptian presence, and a prominent representation of parliamentary diplomacy, in the presence of more than 100 Speakers of Parliament and a parliamentary delegation from various countries of the world.

The conference was held under the theme of "Parliamentary leadership for more effective pluralism that achieves peace and sustainable development for peoples and the planet."

During its sessions, the conference discussed a number of important issues of interest on the international scene.

On his part, the Egyptian House Speaker delivered a speech on gender equality, in which he affirmed that women are a basic pillar and an authentic partner in achieving sustainable development.

He also referred to the efforts of the Egyptian state to achieve real and fundamental empowerment of Egyptian women and ensure their safe participation in public life.

It is worth noting that Gebaly and Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, met, on the sidelines of the World Conference, to discuss relations between the two countries.

According to an official statement, Gebaly praised how the relations between Egypt and Russia have seen remarkable growth in recent years.

“This reflects the keenness of the leadership of the two countries to push forward the strategic partnership between them to new heights and in a way that also reflects their international and regional influence and weight,” said Gebaly, revealing that “the strategic partnership agreement between Egypt and Russia will go into effect early next year and that this means that relations between the two countries will get closer in the political, economic, and cultural fields.”

Gebaly also referred to the fact that the two countries are currently involved in a number of joint projects being implemented in Egypt.