The National Assembly of Belize has signed a Framework Agreement for Interinstitutional Cooperation with the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN). The Framework Agreement was signed during the Plenary Assembly of PARLACEN in Guatemala City by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Laura Tucker Longsworth, and, on behalf of PARLACEN, by Honourable Irma Amaya. The purpose of the Framework Agreement is to establish the basis for relations that will allow academic-interinstitutional cooperation between PARLACEN and the National Assembly of Belize.
In her address to the Plenary Assembly of PARLACEN, the Honourable Madam Speaker said that the Agreement envisions collaboration between the two parliaments and recognizes and encourages reflection and consultation in partnership with the right of participation on topics of regional interest by civil society organizations, governmental departments and international organizations. She said that, under this Agreement, the National Assembly and PARLACEN will be required to jointly organize training courses, workshops, forums and seminars on topics of economic, political, legal, social and cultural integration and other dimensions of mutual interest, seeking to organize regional work with the collaboration of universities and other institutions of higher education. In addition, the two parliaments will be required to jointly promote the development and discussion of framework laws on regional integration issues among other issues of mutual interest.
The Honourable Tucker Longsworth also said that the Framework Agreement with PARLACEN is valuable to accelerate progress in areas of common interest and enhance the integration effort, and that the inclusion of stakeholder consultation is forward thinking and supports direct democracy through recognition of the right of participation of stakeholders. She added that the signing of this Agreement with PARLACEN marks another milestone in our regional political integration of SICA, and as a non-Member of PARLACEN, this Agreement will be an important and necessary platform to facilitate inter-parliamentary exchanges, political dialogue and cooperation between the two parliaments. Accompanying the Honourable Madam Speaker at the signing in Guatemala City was Mrs. Clarita Pech, Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly, and officials from the Embassy of Belize in Guatemala, Mr. Luis Verde and Ms. Kyrshanie Pott.
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