G20 Speakers’ Consultation to address security crisis

By Bae June-young

Parliamentary heads of the Group of 20 nations will converge in Seoul later this month to discuss international cooperation in coping with large scale natural disasters and terrorism.

Whereas last year’s G20 summit held in Seoul focused on the global financial crisis, the G20 Speakers’ Consultation, to be hosted by the National Assembly from May 18 to 20, will address the global security crisis.

More people than ever are concerned about global security issues following the recent devastating earthquake in northeastern Japan and the subsequent explosion that took place at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Civil unrest in the Middle East has also spread the feeling that no one nation can be isolated in maintaining security and that international cooperation is essential.

Amid this background, this month’s meeting of legislative leaders will address the joint prevention and relief of natural disasters, bolstering safety at nuclear power plants, fighting global climate change and anti-terrorism.

The consultation will provide an important forum for the legislative branch of each nation to build a consensus on these issues. For Korea, it will also be a chance to reinforce its status as a regional economic power and its newfound role as a link between rich and poor nations.

The G20 Speakers’ Consultation takes place at the host nation of one of last year’s G20 summits. It is a “premier league” of the world’s legislative branches as the speakers of parliament of some of the world’s biggest industrial and emerging economies participate at the event. The Seoul meeting will be the second of its kind following an inaugural meeting in Ottawa last year.

National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae proposed at the Ottawa meeting that the G20 Speakers’ Consultation should be held on a regular basis. It remains to be seen whether this will happen, but it will be meaningful for parliamentarians who make the laws and decide the budget back home to meet and resolve their differences.

We are living in an age of total diplomacy where diplomacy by each member of a nation is encouraged for the interest of the country. Parliamentary diplomacy is especially important in this regard as foreign policy begins with interactions between governments, but necessitates parliamentary ratification as the requisite next step.

A prime example is the ratification of free trade agreements, of which Korea is undergoing parliamentary discussions regarding FTAs with the European Union and the United States.

Parliamentary diplomacy is also flexible. There are instances when lawmakers can breach the limits of public diplomacy between governments.

When friendship buds among lawmakers who have served many terms, they may talk about matters that are hard to bring up at discussions among government officials. They may also break an impasse between nations.

For example, a visit to Algeria by speaker Park in January resulted in the signing of an agreement that had been stalled for 13 months to begin construction of a port by a Korean company. In India in March, the speaker received a favorable response from the Indian parliament for bilateral cooperation on nuclear power plant technology.

The G20 Speakers’ Consultation will be held at the National Assembly’s Rotunda hall under the theme “Safe World, Better Future” in the hope of creating a safer world for the next generation.

The writer is vice spokesperson of the National Assembly. He can be reached at jyb116@hanmail.net.