President of Jordanian Senate meets President Zardari

DEAD SEA: President of the Senate of Jordan Taher Al Masri called on President Asif Ali Zardari here on Saturday and discussed matters of mutual interest.

The two sides had a frank discussion on the matters of bilateral interest, with particular focus on the need for enhanced interaction between the parliaments of two countries through exchanges of parliamentary delegations.

The President, who is in Amman to attend the World Economic Forum special meeting on Arab World, apprised the President of Jordanian Senate about the democratic system in Pakistan as well as the recent Constitutional Amendments, which further empowered the national legislature.

President Zardari stressed the need for parliamentary exchanges between Pakistan and Jordan to further strengthen the already existing close and historic ties between the two brotherly nations.

The Parliament of Jordan is the bicameral Jordanian National Assembly or "Majlis al-Umma". Established by the 1952 Constitution, the legislature consists of two houses - the Assembly of Senators ("Majlis al-Aayan") and the Chamber of Deputies ("Majlis al-Nuwaab").

The Assembly of Senators has 60 members, all of whom are directly appointed by the King, while the Chamber of Deputies has 120 elected members, with 9 seats reserved for Christians, 3 are for Circassian and Chechen minorities, and 12 for women.

The Constitution ensures that the Senate cannot be more than half the size of the Chamber of Deputies. The members of both houses serve for four year terms.

Minister for Interior A Rahman Malik, Chairman Board of Investment Saleem Mandviwalla, Pakistan's Ambassador in Jordan Attiya Mahmood and Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar were also present in the meeting.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011