Manama: A delegation from the Kingdom of Bahrain's parliamentary division participated in a virtual workshop titled "Passengers or Pilots: Are Parliaments Driving Their Own Development?" organised by the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) in collaboration with AGORA Portal for Parliamentary Development.
According to Bahrain News Agency, the event aimed to review developments in legislative work and discuss how parliaments can benefit from shared experiences and initiatives that support democratic advancement. The delegation included Dalal Jassim Al Zayed, Chairperson of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee in the Shura Council and Member of the IPU Committee to Promote Respect for International Humanitarian Law, along with MP Hassan Ibrahim Hassan and MP Dr. Mahdi Abdulaziz Al Showaikh.
The workshop addressed the challenges facing modern democracies, such as declining public trust in parliaments and the increasing complexity of legislative and oversight duties. Participants also discussed the implementation of common principles adopted by national parliaments under the IPU framework and the potential for these principles to promote democratic development.
Sessions also reviewed case studies of parliaments that benefitted from external support or worked with regional and international partners to strengthen democratic practices. The workshop addressed methods for measuring parliamentary performance, tools that facilitate or hinder development, and the importance of fostering interactive dialogue among parliamentarians and stakeholders to achieve sustainable development goals.