Karachi, 14 September 2026: Speaker Provincial Assembly of Sindh Syed Awais Qadir Shah attended the opening ceremony of the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) held in Cape Town, South Africa. The opening ceremony was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
The 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference is jointly hosted by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa and the South Africa Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). The conference is being held from 13 to 19 September 2026. The theme of the conference is “Strengthening International Law and Parliamentary Democracy in a Changing World Order - Commonwealth Leadership.”
The opening ceremony was held on Monday, 14 September, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, with Speakers, Presiding Officers, Members of Parliament and parliamentary officials from different Commonwealth countries in attendance.
CPA President and Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces of South Africa Honorable. Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane welcomed the participants, while Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa Honorable. Thokozile Didiza, MP, also welcomed the visiting parliamentary delegations. South African Minister for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Maropene Ramokgopa addressed the opening ceremony on behalf of the President of South Africa.
The 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference is providing an important platform for representatives of Commonwealth parliamentary institutions to deliberate on contemporary challenges facing democratic institutions and exchange parliamentary experiences, best practices and views on democracy, international law, good governance, human rights, climate resilience, technology and other matters of common concern.
The conference programme also includes the 42nd CPA Small Branches Conference, 10th Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference, CPA General Assembly, CPA Executive Committee meetings and various specialised parliamentary workshops.
Speaker Provincial Assembly of Sindh Syed Awais Qadir Shah is leading the Provincial Assembly of Sindh delegation at the conference. The delegation includes Tanzila Umi Habiba, Jam Shabbir Ali Khan, Khurrum Karim Soomro, Adil Altaf Unar, Mahesh Kumar, Syed Aijaz Hussain and Muhammad Yousuf Balouch, accompanied by Secretary Provincial Assembly of Sindh G.M. Umar Farooq and Director General Media Irfan Ahmed Memon.
The participation of the Speaker Provincial Assembly of Sindh and the delegation in the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference reflects the commitment of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh to parliamentary diplomacy, democratic values, legislative cooperation and the exchange of best parliamentary practices with legislatures across the Commonwealth.
The 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference will continue in Cape Town until 19 September, featuring various meetings, workshops, regional meetings, the CPA General Assembly and other parliamentary activities.
