The People’s Assembly is Egypt’s parliamentary group in inter-parliamentary conferences. The Group seeks to develop and promote relations with other parliamentary groups representing parliaments of the world, in tandem with objectives and principles of Egyptian policy based on cooperation with all peoples and reinforcing global peace.
The Group’s General Assembly is made up of all MPS, and chaired by the Speaker, with the two deputy speakers as its deputies.
The Group Executive Committee comprises the Assembly Bureau members and three members selected by the Assembly Bureau, provided one at least belongs to opposition parties. The People’s Assembly Secretary General is the Group secretary general. He organizes the work of its secretariat and is accountable for it to the Speaker.
The People’s Assembly, in the form of the Parliamentary Group, holds an annual meeting in January to discuss the Group affairs. It calls an emergency meeting at the request of the executive committee to consider themes of relevance.
The Egyptian parliamentary group is keen on attending all regional and inter-parliamentary forums, such as the Arab Parliamentary Union, the Union of African Parliaments and particularly the Inter-Parliamentary Union which plays an important role in advancing world peace and stability and activating parliamentary institutions worldwide.
The Egyptian Parliamentary Group and the Inter-Parliamentary Union
The Egyptian parliament joined the Inter-Parliamentary Union after the promulgation of the 1923 Constitution and the parliament’s 1924 session. This reflected Egypt’s interest in effectively contributing to all aspects of international activities and attending together with members of parliaments to peaceful solutions for world problems in general, and national issues in particular.
Hosting the Inter-Parliamentary Conference
In line with the above-mentioned objectives Egypt applied in 1938 to host the Inter-Parliamentary Conference. The invitation was reiterated in the 35th. Conference held in Oslo; however, the IPU performance was suspended as part of pan peaceful activities halted in the wake of World War II.
By the end of World War II and the resumption of IPU activities, Egypt reapplied and had been the host of the 36th. IPU Conference in April 1947. That was the first Inter-Parliamentary Conference held in Africa and the Arab world.
In September 1997, the Egyptian parliamentary group hosted the 98th, Inter-Parliamentary Conference which coincided with changes worldwide which reflected on power relations and peoples’ interests as well as on the future of the entire world. The Cairo-Held Conference gave birth to the Universal Declaration on Democracy.
Egypt’s Presidency of the Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Dr. Ahmed Fathi Sorour, Speaker of the People’s Assembly, was elected in 1994 as President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council. This was an unprecedented event in Egyptian Parliamentary history that evidently implies Egypt’s prominent position, the sound policy of its leader, and world parliaments’ appreciation of the excellent performance of the Egyptian parliamentary group as well as Dr. Sorour’s rare scientific and discretionary parliamentary capabilities.
During his term of office (1994-1997) Dr. Sorour was the author of landmarks at this forum, notably cementing further cooperation between the IPU and the United Nations and its affiliate agencies, to say the least of his initiative regarding the Universal Declaration on Democracy adopted at the Cairo-based Conference. Dr. Sorour’s presidency attested to increased focus on economic and social development issues and a growing interest in a stepped-up role of women in political life.
The Egyptian Parliamentary Group and the Union of African Parliaments
The Abidjan Declaration of 27 Jan. 1975 signals the kick-start of the Union of African Parliaments. The Egyptian Parliamentary group was one of the founder groups that created the spectacular forum in Abidjan the Ivory Coast on 13 February 1976. The following years witnessed more admissions of member African parliaments after their countries had got their independence and established their own representative houses. Its standing order chiefly aims at enhancing the role of parliamentary institutions in Africa, deepening the concept of representative democracy, encouraging contacts among African parliaments, and contributing to the realization of the OAU objectives.
Since its establishment, the Egyptian parliamentary group has seen to participating in all its meetings and activities out of Egypt’s principled stance in favour of African concerns and issues. The Egyptian group also hosted and chaired the third UAP Conference in March 1990.
The Egyptian Parliamentary Group and the Arab Parliamentary Union
The Arab Parliamentary Union was established in Damascus in 1974. It is basically slated to strengthen Arab solidarity, reinforce democratic concepts and values in the Arab world, coordinate joint Arab parliamentary work, and give access to meetings and dialogue among Arab Parliamentarians with a view to closing ranks and bringing nearer their activities and stances on international fora.
The Egyptian Parliamentary Group is keen on attending all ordinary and emergency sessions of the Arab Parliamentary Union and playing an important role in the deliberation of issues and problems at stake at its meetings like Arab economic integration, the Arab Common Market, as well as issues related to Arab solidarity. The Group also hosted the 30th APU emergency session entitled (Terrorism: An Obstacle to Democracy and Development) held in Luxor in January 1995.
Egypt’s Presidency of the Arab Parliamentary Union
The Arab parliamentary groups named Dr. Ahmed Fathi Sorour as the President of the Arab Parliamentary Council for a two-year term of office as of Jan. 1998 to become the first Egyptian speaker to lead the Council. This election underscored confidence in Egypt’s commitment, as government and people, to Arab interests.
The Egyptian Parliamentary Group and other International Parliamentary Circles
The Egyptian Parliamentary Group attends all other parliamentary gatherings and conferences plus Arab,African and international circles.
The Egyptian Parliamentary Group is an active founder member of L’Association International des Parlementaires de Langue Francaise since 1968. It also hosted numerous AIPLF meetings in the People’s Assembly. Moreover, it participated in all parliamentary forums in the Mediterranean and European regions with which Egypt entertains close historic and cultural ties and common interests. It also attends meetings of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of Economic Cooperation Organization of the Black Sea, and the Parliamentary Conference of IFTA. The People’s Assembly is after strengthening relations with all parliamentary groups through exchanging visits with them.
The Egyptian Parliamentary Group prepares memos and draft resolutions for the meetings and conferences it participates in, and includes additional items in their agendas and the seventh chapter of the second unit of the rules of procedures discuses all the rules which organize the parliamentary group .