Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Speaker of parliament and Chairman of the Democratic Party (DP) Mr Z.Enkhbold Wednesday flew to China to take part in the "Asian Political Parties' Special Conference on the Silk Road". 

The October 14-16 event will be attended also by G.Batkhuu MP, the secretary of the DP; S.Odontuya MP, a board member of the Union of Democratic Women (UDW); and L.Erkhembayar, the DP's acting secretary-general.

Mr Enkhbold is supposed to address the opening of the measure and to meet Zhang Dejiang, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China. Moreover, the President of the People’s Republic of China Mr Xi Jinpin is expected to receive the Mongolian  delegation.

The International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) was launched in Manila in September 2000 to promote exchanges and cooperation between political parties from different Asian countries and with various ideologies; to enhance mutual understanding and trust among Asian countries; to promote Asia’s regional cooperation through the unique role and channel of political parties. Since its inception, the ICAPP has grown steadily in both membership and influence. At first, few people thought that it would be possible to bring together competing governing, opposition and independent political parties in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, Middle East and Oceania.

The ICAPP meetings have been visionary, cordial, constructive and successful. Simply by bringing together Asia’s political leaders in fraternal assemblies regularly, the ICAPP has become a positive force for mutual understanding among Asian countries and peoples. And now more than 370 political parties in 53 countries in the region with diverse political and ideological backgrounds are eligible to participate in ICAPP activities.

Eight General Assemblies of the ICAPP, which have been held in Manila in 2000, Bangkok in 2002, Beijing in 2004, Seoul in 2006, Astana in 2009, Phnom Penh in 2010, Baku in 2012 and Colombo in 2014, brought together political leaders in the region to exchange opinions and communicate with each other, and helped strengthen unity among Asian countries and propel Asia along the road toward stability and prosperity.

The ICAPP Standing Committee, which is comprised of the leading political parties from 23 countries representing different sub-regions of Asia, has also been meeting regularly, more than twice a year since 2004, to organize ICAPP activities and programs in an effective and concerted way.

ICAPP special conferences and workshops have also been convened on key challenges in the region. The first special conference was held in Seoul in May 2008 on the topic of state subsidies for mainstream political parties as a means to prevent political corruption. Another special conference was held on the making of new democratic constitution in Kathmandu, Nepal, in June 2009. Since then, special conferences have been more focused on the issues targeted by U.N. Millennium Development Goals: on poverty alleviation in Kunming, China, in July 2010; on natural disasters and environmental protection in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in May 2011; on development and people’s access in Nanning, China, in September 2011; on promoting green development and building a beautiful Asia together in Xi’an, China, in May 2013; and on women’s leadership and empowerment in Seoul, Republic of Korea, in September 2013.