Pre-conference on Federalism concludes

New Delhi, Feb 23 (UNI) A three-day pre-conference, which gave a final shape to the themes and sub-themes of papers and to finalise country-specific case studies for the 4th International Conference on Federalism to be held here in November, concluded today.

India will host the 4th International Conference on Federalism in association with the Forum of Federations, Ottawa, Canada. The title of the Conference is 'Unity in Diversity- learning from each other'. Its website, http://federalism2007.nic.in., was launched by Union Home Minster Shivraj Patil.

The proceedings were attended by a large contingent of noted experts from 15 countries which also included Chairman of the Forum of Federations and former President of Switzerland Arnold Koller.

The Conference is centred on four broad themes which include: "Emerging Issues in Fiscal Federalism", "Building on and Accommodating Diversities", "Interaction in Federal Systems" and "Local Government and Federal Systems".

The objective of the Conference is to promote a dialogue on the renewal and development of Federalism and greater co-operation among practitioners in pursuit of better governance. Practitioners of federal democracy at all levels, including Presidents, Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers, scholars, experts, administrators and social activists dedicated to Federalism will collectively engage in the process of sharing ideas, experiences and drawing inspiration from one another.

Earlier conferences were held in Canada in 1999, Switzerland in 2002 and Belgium in 2005.

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