Women's parliamentary delegation meets Chinese legislator
The women parliamentary delegation led by Member National Assembly (MNA) Yasmeen Rehman, is currently on a week-long visit to China, said a news release received here on Tuesday.
The other members of the delegation are Rahela Baloch Pakistan People Party (PPP), Khalida Mansoor Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Dr Nahid Shahid Ali (Mutahida Qaummi Movement), Samina Mushtaq Pagganwala PPP, Farhat Gohar (PPP), Shahnaz Saleem Malik (PML-N) and Nisar Tanveer (PML-N).
Pakistan's Ambassador to China, Masood Khan was also present during the meeting.
Yasmeen Rehman told Liu Zhenhua that in Pakistan an unprecedented number of high-level official positions, ranging from Speaker National Assembly to Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Information are currently occupied by women leaders.
She herself is the vice-chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, she informed adding, Pakistani women parliamentarians are responsible for moving 70 percent of the National Assembly's total legislative agenda, despite comprising only 20 percent of its membership.
She sensitized the Chinese side to the problems being faced by women in the rural areas of Pakistan and also apprised them with the plight of women belonging to those areas that had been devastated by floods for the second time in many years.
She said Pakistan hopes to learn from China's experience in successfully securing the socio-economic uplift of rural women.
China's support for Pakistan's stability and social development in these challenging times has been a source of strength, she remarked.
Yasmeen Rehman said the friendship between Pakistan and China is founded on mutual trust, and convergence of views on all important bilateral, regional and international issues.
Terming this relationship as the "cornerstone" of Pakistan's foreign policy, she reiterated government of Pakistan's full support to China's position on issues such as Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.
The MNA said the recent exchange of high-level visits between the two countries that had coincided with the celebrations of "Pakistan-China friendship year" have given a fresh impetus to bilateral cooperation. She opined that it is gratifying to note that "excellent relations" exist between the parliaments of two countries.
Yasmeen hoped these relations would be further strengthened through greater parliamentary exchanges and cooperation.
The delegation praised China's commitment to giving women equal legal, political and economic rights.
Liu Zhenhua extended a warm welcome to the parliamentary delegation describing Pakistan as a "good partner, good friend and good neighbour." Lauding the "all-weather friendship" between the two countries, he said China appreciated Pakistan's consistent and steadfast support on all issues pertaining to China's core interests.
He informed that China will continue to back Pakistan's efforts for safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and bringing prosperity and development to its people.
He expressed satisfaction with the current state of relations between the two countries, noting that bilateral "pragmatic cooperation" had received a boost after the recent visits of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani.
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011