The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has inaugurated a nine-member management committee of the Parliamentary Friendship Associations (MCPFA) of the Eighth Parliament of Ghana.

The cross-party association, chaired by the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, is to promote dialogue with members of other countries’ legislatures.

It has the mandate to also enter into bilateral and, or multilateral relations with other legislatures of other countries which are members of the United Nations and has diplomatic relations with Ghana.

Besides, the association may establish and pursue contact with counterparts in other parliaments through periodic exchange of visits, holding of joint cultural and educational programmes, participation in activities to celebrate important events undertaken by diplomatic missions of counterpart countries in Ghana, among others.

Members

The members of the association are the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr James Klutse Avedzi, who is also the Vice Chairman of MCPFA; the Deputy Majority Whip, Ms Lydia Seyram Alhassan; the Deputy Minority Whip, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim; the Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr Bryan Acheampong; the Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

Others include the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Akuapem South, Mr O. B. Amoah; the NPP MP for Oforikrom, Dr Emmanuel Marfo, and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Bia East, Mr Richard Acheampong.

The MCPFA was first established during the Sixth Parliament under the auspices of the former Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, and the leadership of Parliament at the time.

The event attracted some members of the diplomatic corps.

Relationships

Inaugurating the committee in Parliament yesterday, Mr Bagbin urged the committee to co-opt three other women onto the board to bridge the gender disparity.

He said the relationship between those associations and their counterparts was characterised by several exchanges during the Seventh Parliament.

“We, therefore, have much to build on and we cannot wait to reorganise all these associations while establishing new associations with other friendly countries to forge further linkages needed for global peace and development,” he stated.

Global integration

According to him, COVID-19 had taught the world lesson that global integration was integral to global development as the pandemic had “heightened our helplessness in our attempt to handle emerging challenges as individual countries.”

“As we are all aware, the world has become a global village due to the great strides made in science and technology; in the same vein, emerging challenges confronting this world tend to be transgenerational and trans-territorial.

“In view of this, no nation on earth can claim exclusive know-how to emerging issues around the world. These issues therefore require countries strengthen and bond together, build stronger networks to be able to apply best practices and contribute to solving the current problems in the world,” he said.

Benefits

Highlighting the benefits of parliamentary friendship association, the Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said a functioning association served as an effective tool for conflict resolutions, offered members the unique opportunity to become abreast of best practices of other Parliaments which, in the long run, impacted on their contributions to debates in their respective Parliaments.

“In addition, the association also help to deepen democracies in member countries through the sharing of ideas and their exposure to best practices from other countries,” he said.

The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassador of Columbia to Ghana, Ms Claudia Turbay Quintero, in her solidarity message, said the formation of the parliamentary associations would be of mutual benefit of both Parliaments and deepen diplomatic and institutional relationships between Ghana and other countries.

Mr Afenyo-Markin, on behalf of the committee, expressed the readiness of the committee to discharge its duty to improve parliamentary relationship with other countries.