Gilani meets Irish speaker

By APP
January 30, 2025
Chairman Senate, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani (3rd right in 1st row) in a group photo along with Verona Murphy, newly elected Speaker of Irish Parliament (centre) in Ireland on January 29, 2025. — PPI
Chairman Senate, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani (3rd right in 1st row) in a group photo along with Verona Murphy, newly elected Speaker of Irish Parliament (centre) in Ireland on January 29, 2025. — PPI  

Islamabad:Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani met with the newly elected Ceann Comhairle (speaker) of the Irish Parliament during his official visit to Ireland.

The Chairman is leading a high level delegation to Ireland and Austria comprising Senator Fawzia Arshad, Senator Jam Saifullah Khan, Senator Nasir Mehmood, Syed Naveed Qamar, Chairman Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, MNA, Ali Qasim Gilani, MNA, Ali Zahid, MNA, Fazal Muhammad Khan, MNA, Khawaja Izhar-Ul-Hassan, MNA, Saba Sadiq, MNA, Shezra Mansab Ali Khan Kharal, MNA, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, Awais Qadir Shah, Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh.

He expressed gratitude for the warm hospitality and emphasised the importance of strengthening parliamentary ties between Pakistan and Ireland.The chairman noted that Verona Murphy is the first female speaker elected in Ireland, highlighting the trust placed in her leadership as an independent member. He acknowledged the significance of women in leadership roles and recalled that Benazir Bhutto, as the Muslim World’s and Pakistan’s first female Prime Minister, had visited Ireland in 1994. It was the first-ever and only visit to date by any chief executive of Pakistan, further strengthening historical ties between the two nations. Discussions focused on enhancing inter-parliamentary cooperation, particularly in legislative exchanges, governance, and transparency.

The chairman commended the Irish Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) as a model for fiscal oversight and expressed Pakistan’s resolve to establish its own PBO, inspired by best practices from Ireland.

Recognising Ms. Murphy’s background as an entrepreneur, the Chairman emphasized that Ireland’s business delegations must visit and explore investment opportunities in Pakistan. He highlighted Pakistan’s investor-friendly climate and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a one-window operation designed to streamline and facilitate foreign investment across key sectors.