AALEP President Christian D. de Fouloy will meet in Brussels tomorrow with the recently appointed Chair of the Committee on Government Relations (Mr. Oleg Rumyantsev) of the Russian Public Relations Association (PACO). According to Mr. Rumyantsev 'In Russia there is no association of lobbyists and the need for institutionalization in our industry is long overdue'. Strategic objectives of the Russian Committee on Government Relations include the following:

AALEP has just published a comprehensive listing of the Top 200 French Public Affairs Practitioners that provides a comprehensive alphabetical display by Names and Function and by Entities (Firms/Companies/Association.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) will hold their first-ever Business Summit on 5 May 2011 in Jakartat. Hosted by the Indonesia Chair of ASEAN and the European Union, the ASEAN-EU Business Summit will be opened by the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The ASEAN-EU Business Summit is a high-level forum for business and government to address critical issues related to EU-ASEAN trade relations, while identifying new business and investment opportunities on both sides.

Movers and Shakers are people of energetic demeanour who initiate change and influence events. AALEP has just published a report of the leading and most influential Public Affairs practitioners associated with consultancies. There are an estimated 600 to 700 people working for PA consultancies in Brussels. The AALEP report only includes the most prominent by virtue of their function ( Managing Directors, Heads of Office, Senior Partners, Partners and Directors).

As Easter approaches, I thought it would be interesting to consider the biblical accounts of lobbying. Indeed there are numerous biblical accounts of lobbying in the Bible, many with successful results. Joseph lobbied Egyptian authorities on several matters relating to the people of Israel . Moses and his associates lobbied hard in the attempt to convince Pharaoh that the Egyptian government should let his people go. Daniel and his friends lobbied Babylonian officials concerning special privileges relating to diet and lifestyle .

There's a balance in world affairs. That's what the concept of yin and yang is about. The Chinese feel Europe lacks a strategic vision and suffers from internal discord, which impedes its credibility in world affairs. China desires a more united European voice as part of its conception of a multipolar future world order. China has a sophisticated approach to Europe.

Prof. Giorgio Stanta has joined AALEP. Professor Stanta from the University of Trieste  performs molecular and epidemiological analyses in human archive tissues, in particular for research in dermatology and oncology for validation and standardisation of technologies. As Italian representative, he is member of the European Molecular Pathology Board. He is also member of the Molecular Pathology Council of the European Society of Pathology and of the Italian Group of Molecular Pathology.

HE Mr. Avirmed Battur has just joined AALEP. HE Mr. Avirmed Battur is the Ambassador of Mongolia to Benelux and the EU since 2008. Ambassador Battur is a career diplomat and has held a number of important positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mongolia, including that of Vice-Minister from 2004 to 2006. From 1999 to 2000 he was the Minister for Education, Culture, Science and Technology and Director of the Public Administration and Management Department from 1998 to 1999.

Mr. Bobby Kewalramani, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Perfect Relations Group has just joined AALEP. Established in 1992, Perfect Relations Group is South Asia's  largest image management, communications and business policy consultancy. It employs over 200 media and industry specialists and has its company-owned offices in 14 major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chemnai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. Mr. Kewalramani is responsible for managing all operations of the company globally. 

The practice of lobbying provides a forum for the resolution of conflicts among often diverse and competing points of view; provides information, analysis, and opinion to legislators and government leaders to allow for informed and balanced decision making; and creates a system of checks and balances that allows for competition among interest groups, keeping any one group from attaining a permanent position of power. Lobbyists can help the legislative process work more effectively by providing lawmakers with reliable data and accurate assessments of a proposal’s  effect.