By NNN-KUNA
Paris : President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Rene van der Linden will visit the Middle East on Aug 18-24 aimed at encouraging “opportunities presented by the current situation to achieve sustainable peace in the region and to promote inter-religious dialogue.”
PACE said in a statement Thursday that Linden would first visit Jordan where he was expected to meet King Abdullah, Prime Minister Marouf Al-Bakhit and other top officials.
Linden will then head for Israel on Aug 20 where he will hold talks with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon, as well as other officials. He will also be taking part in an inter-religious forum that will be held there.
In the Palestinian territories, Linden is expected to meet on Aug 23 Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and chief negogiator Saeb Erekat.
The Parliamentary Assembly is made up of 318 parliamentarians from the 47 Council of Europe member states. It regularly debates the situation in the Middle East and brings together parliamentarians from all sides in the conflict.
In recent years, PACE has also developed formal, structured working relations with members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).