  |
Gib visit by Liberal International Secretary-General
|
The Secretary General of Liberal International Emil Kirjas was in Gibraltar last week for a short visit. Mr Kirjas took the opportunity to meet with Liberal Party Leader Dr Joseph Garcia for a briefing and an update on the political situation of Gibraltar.
Mr Kirjas is no stranger to Gibraltar issues. He has come across Gibraltar matters before over a period of over ten years when be belonged to other Liberal organisations. Dr Garcia took the opportunity to highlight Spain's ban on Gibraltar's participation in international sporting organisations and went through the examples of UEFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
It will be recalled that Liberal International has adopted several resolutions backing Gibraltar?s right to self-determination and in 2002 its Executive Committee held a meeting in Gibraltar which was attended by over 80 delegates from many different parts of the world. This was the first and only time that any political international has met in Gibraltar.
The upcoming conferences of Liberal International taking place this year in Vancouver (Canada) and Cairo (Egypt) were also discussed. The event in Canada is being combined with the national leadership campaign and Biennial Convention of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Liberal International is the global federation of Liberal political parties which was founded in 1947. It is made up of over ninety political parties from five continents of the world. The Gibraltar Liberals started contact with the international in 1996 and were admitted as Observer Members at a meeting held in Oxford (UK) in 1998 and as full members at a meeting held in Ottawa, Canada two years later.
Dr Garcia said that he was delighted with the visit which symbolised the very strong links between the international Liberal family.
|
|
|
|
