08/30/2024
President Pro Tempore Sen. Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence has arrived in China to participate in the esteemed Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchange. Her visit is filled with key meetings, engagements, and discussions aimed at fostering collaboration and strengthening diplomatic ties. The Senator’s presence reflects her commitment to advancing Liberia’s international relationships while promoting legislative dialogue on a global stage. The full itinerary is below
2024 Legislators Forum for Friendly Exchanges
(August 29-September 4, 2024)
August 29 (Thursday)
05:10Arrival in Beijing by HU492 (T2, Beijing Capital International Airport), received by representatives of the CPAFFC at the VIP lounge
MorningRest at the hotel (China World Summit Wing Beijing)
12:00Lunch at the hotel
AfternoonShopping at the Silk Street market
EveningDinner at the hotel
August 30 (Friday)
10:00-11:00Visit the National Museum
12:00Lunch at the hotel
15:00-16:00Official meeting with the state leader of China
16:30-17:30Visit the Palace Museum
18:00-20:00Welcome reception hosted by Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries
August 31 (Saturday)
09:30-11:55Beijing-Shanghai by flight CA1519
Check in at Oriental Riverside Bund View Hotel
18:00Dinner at Lv Bolang Restaurant
September 1 (Sunday)
Visit to Chongming District
08:20Depart for Dongtan Bird National Nature Reserve
10:05-11:00Visit Dongtan Bird National Nature Reserve
11:25-12:05Visit Shanghai Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Research Center
12:20-13:20Lunch
14:00-14:45Visit Shanghai Youyou Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd.
15:30-16:30Visit Jiangnan Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd
17:40Return to Hotel & Dinner at Hotel
September 2 (Monday)
MorningOfficial meeting with the leader of Shanghai
AfternoonOn-site visit
18:30-20:15Welcome Banquet
(Grand Ballroom I, 7th Floor, Shanghai International Convention Center)
21:00-21:40Huangpu River Cruise
September 3 (Tuesday)
09:00-09:40Opening Session
(Grand Ballroom I, 7th Floor, Shanghai International Convention Center)
Moderator: Shen Xin, Vice President, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries
Speakers:
1. Yang Wanming, President, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries
2. Huang Lixin, Chairperson of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress
3. Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, President Pro-Tempore of the Senate of the Republic of Liberia
4. Keynote speech by Chinese leader
09:40-10:00Coffee Break
10:00-11:30Parallel Sessions
Session I:Global Development & Economic Recovery
(1st Floor, Century Hall)
Moderator:
Huang Jianzhong, WTO (China) Chair Holder, President of the Shanghai International Trade Association, Director of the Academic Committee at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Member of Overseas Chinese, Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress
Speakers:
1. Kenny Anthony, Deputy Speaker of the House of Saint Lucia, former Prime Minister
2. Spyridon Kyriakis, Member of Hellenic Parliament
3. Norman Dunn, MP and Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Jamaica
4. Ja’afaru Yakubu, Chairman of the Committee on Nigeria-China Parliamentary Relations of the House of Representatives of Nigeria
5. Ricardo Carvalho, Deputy Secretary General and Portuguese MP
6. Lester Chang, Legislator of New York State 49th Assembly, U.S.
7. Pisit Leeahtam, Former Deputy Minister of Finance and Former MP of Democrat Party, Thailand
8. Ji Junmin, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of Zhejiang Provincial People’s Congress
Session II:Global Security & Lasting Peace
(3rd Floor, Yellow River Hall)
Moderator:
Sha Hailin, Former Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, Current President of Shanghai Public Relations Association, Delegate to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress
Speakers:
1. Harald Troch, Member of National Council of Austria, Deputy Chairman of the Human Rights Committee
2. Abraham Darius Dillon, Chairman of Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Senate of the Republic of Liberia
3. Aleksandar Mirković, Serbian Advanced Party MP, Member of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Parliamentary Committee for the Control of Security Services, Member of the Delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
4. Benjamin Turay, MP of Sierra Leone, Member of the Sierra Leone People’s party
5. Domagoj Hajduković, Chairperson of the European Affairs Committee of the 10th National Assembly of Croatia, Vice Chairperson of the Social Democrats of Croatia
6. Liu Yahong, Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress
Session III:Inclusiveness and Mutual Learning & Diversity of Civilization
(5th Floor, Yangtze River Hall)
Moderator:
Qiu Xin, Chair of the Fudan University Council, Delegate to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress
Speakers:
1. José Chic, Legislator of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala by Will, Opportunity and Solidarity Party
2. Roberto Speranza, Deputy of the Democratic Party, Former Health Minister, Italy
3. Esperanza Martínez, National Senator of Paraguay
4. Cedric Frolick, House Chairperson: Committees, Oversight and Public Participation, South African National Assembly, Honorary President of SA-China People’s Friendship Association
5. John Haslem, President of the Association of Former Members of the Parliament of Australia (AFMPA), Former Member of Australian Parliament, Liberal Party
6. Selvaraj Senthilkumar, Former Member of the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha)
7. Zhuang Changxing, Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of Shaanxi Provincial People’s Congress
Session IV:High-quality The Belt and Road Cooperation & Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
(7th Floor, Pearl Hall)
Moderator:
Zhou Hanmin, Member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Former Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPPCC, and Current President of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association
Speakers:
1. Ulan Primov, Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs, Defense, Security and Migration of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic
2. Mawloud Layeb, Member of the National People’s Assembly, Algeria
3. Edinson Olaya, Representative to the Chamber of the Republic of Colombia of the Democratic Center Party, Member of the Colombia-China Parliamentary Friendship Group
4. Bounta Onnavong, Member of the 9th Naitonal Assembly, Laos
5. Robert Naguri, Member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea, former Minister for Energy
6. Biró Rozália-Ibolya, President of Commission for Foreign Policy of Chamber of Deputies, Romania
7. Jocsen Alvarado, Deputy to the Venezuelan National Assembly of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Member of the Venezuela-China Parliamentary Friendship Group
8. Zhu Chunxiu, Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Congress
11:30-13:30Lunch
13:30-15:00Parallel Sessions
Session V:Social Justice & Common Prosperity
(1st Floor, Century Hall)
Moderator:
Sheng Yongqiang, Deputy Procurator of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Procuratorate, Member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Executive Vice Chairman of the Social and Legal Affairs Committee
Speakers:
1. Mohammed Taufiq, Member of Parliament for Sungai Petani, Malaysia
2. Alexander Orme, Member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
3. Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu, Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security, Rwanda
4. Agustin Santos Maraver, Politburo Member of Sumar, MP of Spain
5. Herbert Edmund Ariko, MP, Chairperson of the China-Uganda Parliamentary Friendship Forum, Uganda
6. Elodio Aragon, MP, Former Minister of State of National Security of Belize
7. Ran Bo, Member of the 14th Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Qiannan Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou Province
Session VI:Democracy & Rule of Law
(3rd Floor, Yellow River Hall)
Moderator:
Ye Qing, President of East China University of Political Science and Law, Member of the Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress (SMPC) and Vice Chairman of Legal Affairs Committee
Speakers:
1. Fikre Aman Gaka, Member of the Identity, Administrative Boundary, and Peace-Building Commission of the House of the Federation of the Federal Parliament of Ethiopia
2. Carlos Valenzuela, Congressman of the National Action Party of Mexico
3. Maria Del Carmen Alva, Congresswoman, former President of the Foreign Relations Commission of Congress, Peru
4. Tia Ju, Vice President of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
5. Grant Chapman, Immediate Past President of the Association of Former Members of the Parliament of Australia (AFMPA), Former Member of Australian Parliament, Liberal Party
6. Evarist Bartolo, Former MP, former Foreign Minister of Malta
7. Roger Köppel, Former Member of the National Council of Switzerland, Editor-in-chief of Die Weltwoche
8. Li Ningping, Deputy Secretary of the Party Members Group and Deputy Director-General of the Standing Committee of Xinjiang People’s Congress
Session VII:Climate Change & Environment Protection
(5th Floor, Yangtze River Hall)
Moderator: TBD
Speakers:
1. Kondo Shoichi, Member of the House of Representatives of Japan, Secretary General of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians’ Union
2. Beatrice Elachi, Member of the National Assembly of Kenya, Secretary General of the China-Africa Friendship Association-Kenya Chapter
3. Sherry Rehman, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Leader in the Senate of Pakistan, Vice-Chairperson of PPP
4. Tomasz Kostuś, Member of Sejm, Chair of the Poland-China Parliamentary Group
5. Miroslav Gregorič, Chairman of the Slovenia-China Friendship Group of the National Assembly of Slovenia
6. Waleed Ali Almansoori, Member of the Federal National Council, Vice Chairman of the Union of Councils of Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, U.A.E.
7. Murray Sainsbury, Past President and Treasurer of the Association of Former Members of the Parliament of Australia (AFMPA), Former Member of Australian Parliament, Liberal Party
8. Tang Liang, Vice Chairman of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Delegate to the National People’s Congress
Session VIII:Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development
(7th Floor, Pearl Hall)
Moderator:
Quan Heng, Chair Researcher of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Delegate to the National People’s Congress
Speakers:
1. Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, President Pro-Tempore of the Senate of the Republic of Liberia
2. Esther Gil, Third Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Spain
3. Carlos D’Alessandro, National Deputy of Argentina-La Libertad Avanza, President of the Natural Resources and Conservation of the Human Environment Committee of the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentina Nation
4. Juan Ignacio Latorre, Senator of Republic of Chile
5. Hector Aguilar, Congressman of the National Congress of Honduras for the Liberty and Refoundation Party
6. Ayush Ariunzaya, Member of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia
7. Mei Bing, Chair of the East China Normal University Council, Delegate to the National People’s Congress
17:30End of the Forum & Dinner at Hotel
20:00-22:10Departure for Beijing by flight MU5125
September 4 (Wednesday)
03:00Departure from Beijing for Brussels by flight HU491
Keep following METRO MEDIA