The discussions on this theme dealt with a number of issues such as the role of the media in parliamentary work, parliament relations with other institutions, training, administration, the by-laws, relations with the executive power, role of political parties, democracy, women…etc. They also dealt with some methodological and critical remarks that are directly related to the study. One participant noted that the study did not focus on the relationship of MPs to the public. The MP must convey to the public what transpires within the parliament which requires training the assistant to the MP and providing the MP with modern communicator techniques and relevant computer programs.

One participant said that the study is important from the theoretical perspective and he asked: what about the existing situation in Arab parliaments and how can we deal with the existing problems? Whenever we think of the development process of Arab parliaments we must take into account the existing circumstances and deal with each Arab parliamentary experiment separately without ignoring the overall situation.

On the other hand, some participants emphasized the importance of the role of the media in parliamentary work. One participant even said that whoever is not skillful in dealing with the media and modern media techniques will never be a successful parliamentarian. For this reason, the development of parliamentary work must be based on the development of efficient relations with the modern media institutions. Others stressed the importance of transmitting parliamentary deliberations through television and the necessity to establish a special TV channel to cover parliamentary activities, like what happened in Jordan.

Some participants underlined the importance of the relations of parliament to other principal institutions such as the central audit office whose relate to the preoccupation of parliament with financial monitoring of the government. Moreover, monitoring the implementation of the budget is a responsibility of the central audit office. For this reason, this office must be directly linked to parliament and not to government.

On a different level, one participant suggested that it is necessary to better link the parliaments with the universities for they can provide to parliament relevant research and scientific expertise. It is not possible for a parliament to have in its technical division a number of economic, financial, political and legal experts in order to take the right decisions on a number of problems and issues. Also, it is no longer appropriate to be satisfied with the opinions of a single expert if parliament is about to perform financial evaluation of a project. The MP or the parliamentary committee must take the right decision under circumstances which require deeper and more comprehensive research and study. It is obvious that Arab universities have the ability to provide the Arab MP's with the information and studies they needs. Hence, a sound relationship between parliaments, especially parliamentary committees, and universities must be established.

Furthermore, the study raised the issue of training workshops for upgrading the capacity of MPs. This subject provoked a number of inter ventures, some in favor and some other taking reserved position on the matter. Some said that there are new issues that impose themselves on the agenda of Arab parliaments. Rehabilitation must include MPs, parliamentary committees, parliament's chairmanship. However, the stumbling block facing the training process is the parliament's chairmanship, the speaker and vice-speaker.

In view of the above, some participants asked whether the training workshops should be mandatory for the MPs. This raises an important issue, namely that mandatory training for Mps would confirm the notion that parliamentary chairmanships exercise a form of guardianship over members of parliament. Therefore, training programs must be optional and be leftto the MP's decision. Another participant raised the question whether training ought to take place before the election or after the election of an MP.

Pursuant to the above issue, the discussions raised the question of the administration in Arab parliaments. How to manage a body, an institution or a directorate? What should be its structure? What is the ability of the group to work together? What is the ideal number of staff that serves best the administrative process? What is the quality of the work team? The discussions pointed out that these administrative issues are still absent in the Arab world and they should be given greater attention because the administrative division in Arab parliaments is nothing but a mere number of people. Therefore, parliaments should have an administrative structure for administrators and clerks and a technical structure for experts and advisers.

On a different level, one participant asserted that the rules of procedures represent one of the essential factors for the development of parliamentary work. The domination of the speaker of parliament and the vast prerogatives which the by-laws bestow on him impede parliamentary work sometimes, especially when the by-laws are vague and not specific. Commenting on the relationship of parliament to the executive power, the discussions pointed out that whenever there is a strong parliamentary institution there should, by necessity, be a strong government. The issue is not whether the government dominates the parliament, or vice versa, but the issue is that there should be a strong government and a strong parliament at the same time.

In the context of the discussions, the issue of the importance political parties was raised. In this connection, the discussions referred to the role of the political party in the fields of organization, party education, training, public action and political work. Furthermore, the discussions referred to the shadow government in the political party, party training, identifying party cadres involved in public work and the means to the establishment of a "political kitchen" within the party to debate with the government.

The discussions mentioned the role of political parties in building the capacity of the MP before his election and the political covenant that must bind the political party and society before, during and after elections.

The discussions also dealt with society's vision of parliamentary representation and whether this representation coincides with the social reality. They also dealt with parliament's structure and the role of the élite in it as well as the issue of moving from amateurism to professionalism in parliamentary work, i.e., from the amateur to the professional parliamentarian.

Moreover, the discussions included an invitation for the transparency in parliamentary work that would enhance confidence in parliament. In this connection, the discussions stressed that democracy is more than an electoral system. Rather, it is a social and an educational process that should become an integral part of the citizen's educational curricula and conduct as to become a behavioral tendency that can not be easily overstepped. The discussion of this point ended by pointing out that despite all the appearances of democracy regarding elections and public liberties in some Arab countries, these countries are still quite far away from the sovereignty of the people.

The discussions raised the issue of making the parliamentary sessions and parliamentary committee meetings open to the public. They also raised the question of women representation in Arab parliaments and it was pointed out that women representation in Arab parliaments ranges from zero to 7% of the total number of MPs in Arab parliaments. Therefore, it is imperative to enhance social awareness of the importance of women participation in parliamentary work.

Finally, the discussions raised the subject of the possible role of the economic and social councils in assisting the parliamentarians in taking decisions on important issues in front of them. The discussions ended by pointing out to the importance of parliament's relation to civil society.