President of the 49th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) conference Speaker Jamir Uddin Sircar made the observation while delivering the inaugural speech at the two-day CPA Small Countries' Conference that began at Hotel Sheraton yesterday.

"Where then do small states fit in this world of dramatically increasing economic and military resources, power and influence? What role can they play?" Sircar raised these questions and said, "Small states cannot make global policies. Global policies on the environment, money laundering, counter-terrorism and labour standards have reflected the interests of major countries."

He felt the small states should use the 'power of ideas' and raise voice collectively for actions.

He expressed his belief that the small countries will be elevated from abject poverty to improved social and economic conditions, "as they have risen from subjugation to establish democratic governance in free societies, as they have responded to the challenges of the last 50 years."

There are 40 small countries in the Commonwealth of which 44 delegates representing 20 countries took part in the first-day meet. Countries having population sizes as low as 1,200 to four lakh are considered small countries.

CPA Alternative Vice-president Dan Hays delivered the welcome speech at the conference, while Executive Committee Chairman Bob Speller, Secretary General Denis Marshall and Treasurer Dr John Marek were also present at the inaugural session chaired by the Speaker of the Norfolk Island, David E Buffet.

The conference focussed on how small states can strengthen their democracies.

Buffet said the meeting had discussions on the process of elections, functioning of parliament and governance.

"Democratic process is a matter of practice by the people and the legislative, both ruling and opposition," said Buffet, adding that abuse of floor-crossing and open-ended tenure of parliaments sometimes put democracy to test in some of the small countries. He sought media focus on the issue.

After the second day's deliberations, the small countries' conference would conclude today through adoption of the Dhaka Declaration.

A delegate of Cook Islands told the conference that old politicians were reluctant to open up to the new generation politicians. He emphasised giving more leadership role to the young leaders.

Most of the MPs of the 25-strong Cook Islands parliament come from New Zealand on overseas quota. Cook Islands has a population of 14,000.

Another delegate from Guernsey said there was no party politics in his country and there was no official opposition. "We don't have any secretariat at our parliament. We discharge all responsibilities by operating through small committees."

The delegates from Australian Capital Territory, the Bahamas, Belize, Cook Islands, Falkland Islands, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kiribati, Maldives, Malta, Nevis Island, Nunavut, Saint Helena, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Turks & Caicos Islands, Yukon, and British Virgin Island attended the conference yesterday.