After three weeks, from 24 November to 14 December 2021, the 5th series of the training seminar on “An Overview of the Parliamentary Responsibilities: Strengthening the Institutions” has come to an end. Despite being delivered virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited physical interaction among participants and resource persons, the 32 attendees from AIPA Member Parliaments and KPI showed their commitment and interest in learning and sharing experiences about the similarities and diversity of parliamentary practices of various parliaments, including from the French Senate and National Assembly, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada, the Swedish Parliament, the European Institute for Asian Studies and from the capacity development experiences of PIC/PCAsia.
In his closing remarks during the closing ceremony of this seminar, His Excellency OUM Sarith, Secretary General of the Cambodian Senate, extended his sincere gratitude to the Parliamentary Centre of Asia (PCAsia) and the AIPA Secretariat for organising the seminar. He also emphasised how the training has evolved in terms of “the strategy of South-South/North-South/South-North” cooperation, where “the platform used proficient resource persons from the North to share experiences and gradually, the parliamentary staff from AIPA Member Parliaments have started to deliver presentations on various topics to share with peers and resource persons from the North”.
Resource persons, moderators and participants in attendance also noted the relevance of the seminar to the work of parliamentary staff. Some recommendations included diversifying the topics of the seminar and extending the participation to AIPA Observer Parliaments.
