[Chairperson of Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation of the House of Representatives, Fadli Zon, attended a meeting with executives of various national media in Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Wednesday (19/1/2022). Photo: Runi/Man]

Indonesia will host the 144^th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly and related Meetings from 20-24 March 2022 in Nusa Dua, Bali. As part of the preparation in welcoming the 144^th IPU Assembly, the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation (BKSAP) of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia conducted a meeting with mainstream national media to announce the organization and Indonesia's designation as host of the event. The Chairperson of BKSAP said that the 144^th IPU is themed “Getting to Zero: Mobilizing Parliaments to Act on Climate Change.”

“To mobilize world parliaments to take action on climate change as it becomes more and more concerning. Therefore, parliaments need to have awareness that they can play a role to help solve the issue through parliamentary functions. This can be done by passing legislations that address environmental and climate issues, for instance, as well as other related issues of the Paris Agreement,” Fadli Zon explained after the meeting with executives of various mainstream national media in Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Wednesday (19/1/2022).

The 144^th IPU Assembly is set to raise four main issues, the first one being maintaining global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius and  the rise below 1 degree Celsius. The second issue is building the capacity of state parties to adapt on the negative effects of climate change. The third issue is ensuring available finance towards sustainable development that promotes the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Lastly, the meeting will set a platform for Indonesia to reaffirm its leadership in climate change action and establishing global partnership and solidarity.

Furthermore, the Great Indonesia Movement Party politician said that the press conference was held to give preliminary information on the appointment of Indonesia as the host of the 144^th IPU Assembly as well as the host for Parliamentary Speakers' Summit or P20, which will be held in September 2022.

“The conference is very strategic for our interest in the organization and for our people as well. The benefit of the IPU Conference in Bali, for example, will send a signal to the world that Bali is now safe and open (for visitors). I hope that the transmission case of the Omicron variant will not worsen. After all, I think the good news is that people have now been accustomed and adapted to a new normal lifestyle because we want our tourism, MSMEs, and the economy in general to recover,” he concluded. (bia/sf)