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The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and the European Parliament (EP) are meeting in Brussels to discuss cooperation on gender equality, food security, peace and security, and youth participation in decision-making. The High-Level Parliamentary engagement takes place after the EU-AU Summit, held in February 2022.
The two continental Parliamentary bodies are consulting on ways to achieve gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, as a vital tool for building just, inclusive, prosperous and peaceful societies. The meeting is also seeking to respond to the urgent food security and nutrition needs and prevent anyone from using access to food as a weapon of war.
Additionally, Parliamentarians from both sides are expected to come up with a concrete roadmap to improve youth participation in decision-making and create new opportunities for the generation that suffered the most from the Covid-19 pandemic. Finally, the meeting will make proposals for peaceful resolutions of African conflicts along the lines of the principles of African solutions to African problems.
Leading the PAP delegation, H.E Hon. Chief Fortune Charumbira, President of the legislative arm of the African Union, says that the cooperation between PAP and EP is based on parity and mutual benefit.
“The cooperation is anchored on the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) which is the blueprint of the strategic partnership between Africa and Europe, and it entails political visions and a roadmap for cooperation in areas of mutual interest to the two continents,” says H.E Hon. Charumbira.
European Parliament Chair of the Delegation for relations with the Pan-African Parliament Ms. Soraya Rodriguez Ramos MEP says:
”It is a pleasure to finally meet in person after the pandemic. This meeting is a clear sign of our strong commitment to strengthening the relations between both Parliaments. Parliamentary cooperation is of utmost importance to enhance the EU-AU partnership and jointly face current global challenges including the food security crisis, climate change, and conflicts, I look forward to the work between the EP and the PAP on how we can work together and make things move forward.”
The current cooperation between the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the European Union (EU), and the European Parliament (EP) respond to policy priorities as set out in Joint Africa – EU Strategy (JAES) adopted at the Lisbon Summit in 2007, the Joint Communication ‘for a renewed impetus of the Africa-EU Partnership’ adopted in May 2017 and more specifically, it responds to the Abidjan Declaration agreed at the 5th AU-EU Summit from 29-30 November 2017, which foresees to pursue cooperation on effective, inclusive and accountable governance at all levels, particularly among to the African Governance Architecture platform Member of which the Pan-African Parliament stands out.
The Inter-Parliament Meeting was held from 8 to 9 December 2022.
SOURCE: PAN AFRICAN PARLIAMENT