Commonwealth summit in Nairobi

10 - 19 September 2010. Nairobi is hosting the 56th plenary conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) at the Kenyatta international conference centre.

Between 800 and 1,000 delegates from over 50 countries are expected to attend the nine day meeting of members of parliament from commonwealth countries. The conference, titled Parliament and Development in the 21st Century: Thus far and Beyond, is being officially launched at a ceremony presided over by the president of Kenya, and vice president of CPA, Mwai Kibaki on 14 September.

The Kenyan parliament is hosting the event in collaboration with the country's two state tourism and marketing agencies Kenya Tourism Board and Brand Kenya, with delegates being brought on excursions designed to promote the country's tourism sector.

Founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association, the original member branches were Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK. In 1948 the association changed its name to the CPA and adapted its rules to enable all members to participate in its management. Over the last decade, more than 50 new parliaments and legislatures have joined or rejoined the CPA, whose patron is Queen Elizabeth.

The last CPA meeting to be held in Kenya was in 1983 while last year's conference took place in Arusha, Tanzania.