House Speaker travels to Ottawa for Commonwealth event

Cyprus House Speaker Demetris Syllouris will be traveling to Ottawa, Canada on Sunday for the 25th Conference of the Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) which takes place 6-10 January.

A press release issued by the Cyprus Parliament says that the Conference will discuss issues related to the role of Speakers and Presiding Officers in introducing new practices and procedures in order to enhance inclusiveness.

Participants will moreover discuss the need to strengthen the role of National Parliaments in order to promote dialogue, transparency and accountability.

Syllouris returns to Cyprus on January 11.

What is the Commonwealth?

As per the organization’s website, the Commonwealth “is a voluntary association of 53 independent and equal sovereign states. The Commonwealth is home to 2.4 billion people and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. Thirty-one of our members are small states, many of which are island nations.”