ABU DHABI // As the speaker of the Arab Parliament, Ahmed Al Jarwan’s greatest achievements have been recorded on a regional level.
Since his appointment as speaker in 2012, Mr Al Jarwan has headed several Federal National Council delegations to the Arab Parliament.
Over the years he has been witness to democratic movements in the Arab world, most recently when acting as an observer at the latest referendum for Egypt’s constitution.
Among other official visits was a trip to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.
Following the trip, he called on Arab countries and the international community to increase support to Syrian refugees and the countries providing them with shelter, pledging his full support for the Syrian people.
While Mr Al Jarwan is left with no choice but to miss some FNC meetings because of his role in the Arab Parliament, he tries not to.
Inside the FNC, he is a member of the Human Rights committee and has passed on a handful of questions to the Government.
Last year he summoned the Minister of Environment and Water and head of the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (Esma), Dr Rashid bin Fahad, to ask him how locally produced and imported foods were monitored in the country.
As a previous member of the Education, Media and Youth committee, Mr Al Jarwan made trips to the three federal universities in the country to check on their research progress.
At that time, he emphasised the importance of research to tackle social problems, adding that Emiratisation was important in the field.
osalem@thenational.ae
