The 118th General Assembly of the International Parliamentary Union concluded here tonight its deliberations. Dr. Salih bin Abdullah bin Homaid, Chairman of the Shoura Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led his country's delegation to the meeting in which representatives of 135 chambers also took part. Among the union committees' decisions were the call for accelerating the peaceful establishment of a Palestinian state and alleviating the deteriorating situation in Gaza strip in addition to the role of parliamentarians in achieving equilibrium between national security, humanitarian security and personal freedoms. A number of decisions were also taken on the role of parliamentary control on government external assistance policies, immigrant laborers, human smuggling, hatred against foreigners and human rights. The next session of the union will be held in April 2009 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Curbing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, climate change and its impact on development, and freedom of expression will be the main topics at Addis Ababa conference. On the other hand, the Secretaries General of world parliaments also concluded their meeting on the fringes of the General Assembly meetings. Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Yahya, Secretary General of the Shoura Council represented his organization in the meeting. Saudi Arabia joined the Geneva-based world's biggest parliamentary umbrella in 2003 and since effectively participated in all its meetings.
