MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands Councillors in Malta for Regional CPA Conference
Two members of the Falkland Islands Legislative Council (LegCo) are bound to Valetta, Malta next week to attend the annual conference of the British Isles and Mediterranean Region of the British Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
Councillor Ian Hansen, who travels to Malta with newly elected colleague, Mike Rendell, told the Falkland Islands Radio Service (F.I.R.S) that "it is always important to keep the Falklands profile up." He continued, "We must remember that in this region, the British and Mediterranean Region, we have the smallest population of all, but we are certainly not patronised in any way at all and our opinions are quite valued."
Councillor Hanson's assertion is supported by the fact that veteran Falkland Islands Councillor, Richard Cockwell, was one of three regional representatives on the Executive of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and in 2004, chaired the Regional Conference, as well as being Acting Vice Chairman of the whole CPA in 1994.
Councillor Cockwell explained to Mercopress that the Falkland Islands had once been part of the Caribbean Regional Conference, but had been transferred to the British Isles and Mediterranean Regional Conference, because it was felt that the latter shared more concerns in common.
Other participating members of the British Isles and Mediterranean Regional Conference include Gibraltar, Cyprus, Malta, St.Helena, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Mann, as well as England, Scotland and Wales.
Councillor Cockwell stated that the prime purpose of the regional conferences was to discuss issues of mutual interest, which might range from issues relating to parliamentary procedure to matters of economic, social and political concern. Global issues were also discussed in the context of preparation for the Annual General Meeting of the whole British Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, which will be held in November this yea, in Nigeria.
Asked by F.I.R.S. whether there was any particular underlying message that he and his colleague would be taking to the conference, Councillor Hansen replied, "No, we always just let people know how things are going with our economy, our tourism, our fishing industry, etc... and of course we always push the political side of it and let people know how we are being treated by Argentina."
John Fowler (Mercopress) Stanley
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