9th standing committee of ICAPP to be opened today
By Muhammad Ali Malik

ISLAMABAD—The 9th Standing Committee Meeting of International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) is being held here under the auspices of the Senate of Pakistan on March 29.
The meeting is being held as a prelude to the 5th General Assembly. The meeting will review the political situation in Asia besides approving theme/sub-themes and reviewing preparations for the 5th General Assembly, scheduled for October this year.
The provisional secretariat of the ICAPP has been established at Seoul, South Korea until a decision with respect to establishing a permanent secretariat is made at the 5th General Assembly.
The main theme of the 5th General Assembly of the ICAPP would be “Towards an Asian Century” and the sub-themes would be “ Reconciliation, Rapprochement, Regionalism and Radicalism,” all of these hold great significance in the present scenario.
The ICAPP General Assembly is held very other year and so far four ICAPP General Assemblies have been held. The inaugural international conference of Asian Political Parities was held in Manila, Philippines in September 2000. The second General Assembly was held in Thailand in 2002 the third General Assembly was held in China in 2004 and 4th General Assembly was held in Seoul, South Korea in 2006.
It may be added that the ICAPP is a forum of Asian Political Parties which was created in the year 2000. A total number of 685 Parties from 62 Asian Countries are members of ICAPP. The objectives of the ICAPP are to promote exchange and cooperation between political parties from different Asian Countries with various ideologies; to enhance mutual understanding and trust among the Asian Countries and to promote Regional Cooperation through the unique role and channel of political parities.