Parliament, Thursday, 12 October 2017 – The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Ms Thandi Modise, will lead a multiparty parliamentary delegation of Members to the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly and related meetings in the Russian Federation. 

Established in 1889, the IPU is an international organisation of parliaments and is the focal point for worldwide parliamentary dialogue centred on fostering peace and co-operation around the world, while entrenching representative democracy.

The conference will be held in St Petersburg from 14 to 18 October 2017 with the main theme of “Promoting cultural pluralism and peace through inter-faith and inter-ethnic dialogues”.

While attending the IPU, Ms Modise will also participate in the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Parliamentary Forum with counterparts from the parliaments of those countries. The theme of this meeting is “Enhancing BRICS Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation and Promoting the Implementation of the Outcomes of the 9th BRICS Summit”. The BRICS summit was held in Xiamen, China, in September 2017.

For further information, contact Ms Tsepiso Shuenyane, Spokesperson to the Chairperson of the NCOP, on 084 888 1170.

ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF THE RSA