Rep. Boozman, Colleagues Travel to Europe to Discuss Middle East Successes, Challenges with NATO Allies
Rep. Boozman, Colleagues Travel to Europe to Discuss Middle East Successes, Challenges with NATO Allies
Washington, Mar 1 -
Rep. John Boozman (R-AR) returned late yesterday from attending the meetings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) in Brussels, Belgium where he and other House members discussed recent successes in the Middle East and international challenges that still must be addressed with our NATO allies.
"There is so much going on in the world right now. From positive news such as the success of the Iraq elections to more discouraging developments in Iran and Syria, it is important that we continue to consult our allies on how to handle these issues," said Boozman.
Boozman and his colleagues discussed a wide array of issues with their counterparts from the legislative bodies of the other twenty-five NATO countries during the meetings including the successes of elections in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine. The delegation reiterated the need for our NATO allies to help train Iraqi police and military. They also expressed concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions as well as Syria's continued support of terror and occupation of Lebanon. Finally, the delegation forcefully expressed their opposition to lifting the arms sales embargo against China.
"We made a point of expressing our opposition to our allies selling arms to China," said Boozman. "The EU is considering lifting the embargo and we emphatically oppose this. The reality of the situation is that there are only two countries that China would want to use these weapons against - Taiwan and the U.S."
After attending the NATO meetings in Brussels, the delegation traveled to Paris, France where they attended Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) meetings that focused on international trade, the world economy and specific discussions on economic issues of the Middle East, North Africa and China. OECD consists of thirty member countries - including the U.S., United Kingdom, France and Germany - that share a commitment to democratic government and the market economy.
The trip wrapped-up in London, England where the delegation met privately with their counterparts in the British Parliament to discuss their governments' views on the international issues discussed at the previous days' conferences.
Boozman is a member of the NATO PA, which is an inter-parliamentary organization of legislators from the nineteen member countries of NATO and twenty associate countries. NATO PA has been meeting since 1955 to build support for the NATO Alliance within the national legislatures and to provide recommendations to the Secretary General of NATO and the North Atlantic Council. Many of the reforms in NATO have first come from the Assembly. It also provides a way for legislators in member countries to stay informed about changes in NATO and about military reforms in the twenty associate countries.
For more information on the North American Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly, please visit http://www.naa.be.
http://boozman.house.gov/News/DocumentPrint.aspx?DocumentID=7009