On February 8, the World Summit featured concurrent global assemblies of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP) and the Interreligious Association for Peace and Development (IAPD), two projects of UPF representing a multi-track approach to peace and conflict resolution.
Former Philippine Speaker Jose De Venecia, co-chairman of IAPP, described how China is challenging the West and shifting “global gravity from the Atlantic to the Pacific.” Regarding the Korean Peninsula, Speaker De Venecia proposed a plan that recommended a confederation between the two nations, similar to the models of Vietnam and Germany, commercial flights, highways, and a common railway system for the two Koreas.
Speakers in the IAPP session from Europe and the Middle East included Hon. Zouheir Bahloul, former Member of the Knesset; Hon. Albin Kurti, Member of the Kosovo Parliament; Hon. Robert Cutajar, Member of the Maltese Parliament; and Hon. Carmen Quintanilla, Member of the Spanish Parliament.
The IAPD session included Dr. Mikulas Vymetal, Pastor of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren in the Czech Republic and Dr. Mukhamet Gallyamov, Imam Khatib of the Ikhlas Mosque in Ufa, Russia.