Chinese funding to help IPU support new development agenda

Geneva/New York, 31 August 2015

The donation from China will help in key areas including strengthening MPs and combating violence against women. ©IPU

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has welcomed the decision by China to provide US$ 1.5 million in new funding to the Organization in its work to strengthen parliaments and better prepare them for the implementation of the new sustainable development agenda.

The funds will be mainly used to help develop the capacity of parliamentarians in developing countries to tackle the many challenges they face in fulfilling their role as legislators, representatives of their people and overseers of government.

The soon-to-be adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include the need to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions, such as parliaments. Ensuring they are fit for purpose in the implementation of the SDGs will be critical for the eventual success of the goals.

The funding will also allow for collaboration on a number of other areas, including addressing violence against women, a major part of IPU’s work on gender equality.

The donation marks a strengthening of relations between IPU and the Chinese Parliament, which joined the global organization of national parliaments in 1984. It also underscores the growing Chinese involvement in strengthening IPU’s role and influence on the global agenda.