Hon. Mr. Bruno Coimbra Via della Penitenza, 37 00165 Rome, Italy

Lisbon, 12 January 2023 Dear Mr. Bruno Coimbra,

As you may be aware, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) will hold its 146th Assembly and related meetings at Exhibition World Bahrain (EWB) in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, from 11 to 15 March 2023.

We have reserved an item on the Agenda of the Assembly for the presentation and discussion of a report by The Standing Committee on Sustainable Development on the subject "Parliamentary efforts in achieving negative carbon balances of forests". This will be a very significant moment of the Assembly, where IPU will work on the engagement of parliaments and parliamentarians on climate change mitigation issues, where forests play an essential role, through their potential to capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the main greenhouse gases.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM), as an observer member of IPU, was invited to attend the above-mentioned assembly.

Nevertheless, considering climate change knows no boundaries, strong inter-parliamentary and inter-organizational cooperation is critical. Therefore, given the undeniable relation between the theme of Item 6 of the Agenda of the IPU 146th Assembly and the valuable work that the Energy, Environment and Water Committee of the PA-UfM, which you superiorly preside, has been developing, I would be very pleased to welcome you in this Assembly.

In this regard, I would like to invite you, in your capacity as President of the PA-UfM Energy, Environment and Water Committee, to attend the 146th Assembly of the IPU and related meetings, on the aforementioned dates and venue.

I look forward to your presence.

Yours sincerely, DUARTE PACHECO President of the IPU

11 DE MAIO DE 2023 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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