Hon. Jose Junqueiro, Vice President of PAM and Head of the Portuguese delegation, inaugurated the 4th Meeting of the Standing Committees, hosted in Lisbon by the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal. In his introduction, Hon. Junqueiro gave a brief overview of the work done by the Special Task Forces and Ad Hoc Committees within the 1st Standing Committee and thanked all the high- level guests who addressed the meetings held in different Mediterranean cities between January and June this year.
He welcomed more than 40 parliamentarians from over 16 countries of the Mediterranean region in the Senate Hall of the Portuguese Assembly, where the Committees will be discussing various topics of common interest to the region.
During the first day the parliamentarians will be discussing issues, reports and resolutions concerning the Middle East, Organised Crime and Terrorism. Rapporteurs will be presenting their findings and proposals which the 1st Standing Committee will proceed to consider for final endorsement for further presentation and adoption procedure at the forthcoming Plenary Session, to be held in Istanbul next October.
The Standing Committee was addressed by Mr. Filippo Grandi, Deputy Commissioner General of UNWRA, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East. Mr. Grandi illustrated the role of UNWRA in the Middle East and delved into the work of the UN Agency and his personal experience in the area. He underlined the importance of a political settlement for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and he highlighted the important role of parliamentary diplomacy. In this regard, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean has a pivotal role to play in putting political pressure on the respective governments and their constituencies and on all stakeholders involved in the continuation of the peace process in the Middle East.