On the third day of its conference, head of the Pan-African Parliament Roger Dang called on Egypt to sign a protocol that would make the parliament into a legislative body across Africa.
The protocol was drafted in Johannesburg during a preliminary meeting attended by various ambassadors from across Africa.
Mali and Sierra Leon are the only countries that have currently ratified the protocol.
Dang deems it “unacceptable” that the Pan-African Parliament, which been in existence for 12 years, has not been able to achieve its goal of becoming the continent’s legislative body.
“The transformation of Pan-African Parliament into a legislative body will empower African countries to draft new bills to counter regional challenges—chiefly terrorism,” he said.
The African Conference held in Sharm El-Sheikh to celebrate 150th anniversary of the Egyptian House of Representatives—the first African parliament–witnessed a huge turnout from African leaders and politicians. The conference will continue until 11 October.
On the sidelines of the conference sessions, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met on Sunday with the secretary general of the inter-parliamentary union (IPU), Martin Chungong.
Al-Sisi commended Chungong’s role in restoring Egypt’s IPU membership. “Egypt is committed to making its democratic experience a success,” he said during the meeting.
He added that Egypt is looking forward to undertaking a more effective role in refugee and illegal immigration issues. Meanwhile, Chungong said that the IPU would continue to collaborate with Egypt’s parliament and enhance its capacity through various programmes.