Egypt, Kuwait support female candidate for IPU

CAIRO – 18 October 2017: Marzouq al-Ghanim, Kuwait's parliament speaker, said on Tuesday that it agreed to support one of the female candidates for the presidency of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

The said approval aligned with the conditions the Arab Group set; atop of which is standardizing Arabic as the official and main language of the Union. The conditions further included that the Union's next presidency will prioritize Arab issues.

"The coordination and arrangement to support one of the presidential candidates was held after a meeting between me and the speaker of the Egyptian parliament, Ali Abdel-Aal, on behalf of the Arab Group with the presence of the candidates from Mexico and Uruguay," Ghanim said. Ghanim’s statement came in a press statement at the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union conference, which was held in the Russian city; Saint Petersburg.

"We made clear promises during an open meeting. We wish the female candidate we support as an Arab group success in the elections," said Ghanim. The conference prioritized all major Arab issues starting with the Palestinian issue; which was discussed with the two candidates.

In terms of other sensitive issues discussed, Ghanim added, "Today we have completed discussing an emergency; that is, the Rohingya Crisis. The wording of a draft policy, which was originally submitted by the Kuwaiti parliament and stands as an object of pride for us and for the Arab geopolitical group, was unanimously approved."