Sir James attends InterAction Council meeting – China

Former Prime Minister Sir James Mitchell left the state on Wednesday for China, where he will attend the 30th annual plenary meeting of the InterAction Council.{{more}}

The meeting, which is being held in Tianjin, China, will take place from May 10 to 12.

“This is a historic year for the InterAction Council, as we celebrate our 30th anniversary,” said Franz Vranitzky, InterAction Council Co-Chair and former Chancellor of Austria. “We are humbled to reach this milestone in a country as steeped in history as China. We are thankful for the support and kindness our Chinese colleagues and friends have already shown us in offering to host this meeting.”

The two-day meeting will bring together more than 20 former heads of state and government, leading academics and policy makers to deliberate four main themes: the present state of the world, the global financial crisis, global security imperatives (including nuclear disarmament) and the global water crisis. The opening ceremony on May 10 will feature a keynote speech by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong of Singapore, on the present state of the world.

Sir James told SEARCHLIGHT in an interview on Monday that seeing that St Vincent and the Grenadines has diplomatic relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan, he notified the Taiwanese Embassy here that he will be travelling to mainland China for the meeting, because he did not want for there to be any speculation about his trip.

“I don’t want people to feel that I am doing things behind people’s back,” he said.

In its 30-year history, the InterAction Council has been at the forefront of many prominent issues, most notably the 1997 drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities, a document that counterbalances the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the recent Hiroshima Declaration, a powerful plea for the abolishment of nuclear weapons.

In addition to the roundtable discussions, InterAction Council members will meet with Chinese government officials and have the opportunity to engage in bilateral meetings. They will also be given a sampling of some of the cultural treasures and impressive sights that Tianjin has to offer.

The InterAction Council holds its meetings in a different country every year and met last year in Quebec City, Canada.