Speaking on the occasion, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq thanked the Pakistan High Commission for the warm hospitality and facilitating their visit to the UK. He said the ongoing collaboration between Pakistan and UK in the form of parliamentary exchanges, workshops and seminars was indeed very productive. He also announced that Pakistan would be hosting the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference in September 2015. He invited the British Parliamentarians to the Conference to see the real Pakistan which was quite different from what was being portrayed in the media.

 

About his meetings in London, the Speaker said: “We had valuable interactions with the Lord Speaker Baroness D’Souza and the Speaker of the House of Commons Rt Hon John Bercow in the past three days. We shared common ideas and experiences and reaffirmed our commitment to continue cooperation in future. I hope that this visit will not only contribute towards improving the working of the PAC in Pakistan but will also help strengthen the ties between the two parliaments”.

 

Welcoming the guests, Acting High Commissioner Mohammad Imran Mirza said that Pakistan and UK enjoyed excellent relations which were growing in strength with the passage of time. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif undertook a highly successful first official bilateral visit to the UK earlier this year, during which the two sides reaffirmed their commitment for closer and stronger cooperation in diverse areas of common interest. The dinner at the High Commission was attended by several British as well as Pakistani Parliamentarians and members of the Pakistani Diaspora in the UK.

 

Earlier, the Speaker also addressed the closing plenary session of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Workshop for South Asian Women Parliamentarians which was attended by Pakistani women Parliamentarians as well. In his address at the Workshop, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association along with Pakistan’s Women Parliamentary Caucus was playing an important role in enhancing parliamentary cooperation among various countries.