Mr. Borbely Laszlo, the President of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies has attended today, October 7, 2014, the Eighth Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting in Rome.

Mr. Borbely took the floor in the second panel discussion "Sustainable growth and food security", where he stressed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy and the need for a more representative global governance structure.

In his speech, Mr. Borbely mentioned a few key actions members of national parliaments can and should undertake to fight the global crises and to enhance sustainable development worldwide, namely to “constantly initiate and pass legislation that favors sustainable development on the long term by withstanding the temptation to resort to quick fixes that bring short term gains and postpone the transition process  towards green economies and free societies”, he said.

“We have the mandate of the people and the means to transform the future Sustainable Development Goals into reality by passing the legislation that allows our societies to achieve them at home and help other countries achieve them abroad. We have to save the future for our people!”, Mr. Borbely urged his fellow parliamentarians, adding that “sustainable, green economies and open democratic societies are the only way forward in today’s globalised world where national interest already goes beyond mere national interest, in an interdependent and interconnected world to an unprecedented level in human history”.

As a consequence, the vision of all parliamentarians “should be the result of a global perspective”, whereas their role is to “contribute with all that they can to the achievement in the upcoming years of the new sustainable development goals, in order to create a livable future for the next generations”.

The Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting is one of the most important assemblies of global parliamentary diplomacy. Parliamentarians from Europe, Asia and Australia have gathered this year on October 6-7 in Rome, for The Eighth Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting (ASEP-8) organised by Italy, under the theme “The role of Parliaments in fostering Asia-Europe dialogue, sustainable growth and stronger governance structures”. ASEP 8 was presided over by Ms. Laura Boldrini, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, and Mr. Pietro Grasso, President of the Italian Senate.