Speaker of National Parliament Hon Patteson Oti welcomed the Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to Solomon Islands for the first time H.E Mr. Li Ming during a courtesy call to Parliament House this morning.

During the brief visit the Speaker and the Ambassador discussed Parliament’s infrastructure priorities as well as Parliament’s intention to become a member of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), an international Organization of National Parliaments which China is also a member.

Parliamentary Infrastructure priorities includes proper ceremonial grounds.

The IPU is the global organization of national parliaments. It began in 1889 as a small group of parliamentarians, dedicated to promoting peace through parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue and has since grown into a global organization of national parliaments. Today, IPU has 179 Member Parliaments, 13 Associate Members and increasing numbers of parliamentarians from all over the world involved in IPU work. (ipu.org)

Other areas discussed included opportunities for South - South exchanges and cooperation.