Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova presided over the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) Co-ordinating Meeting held within the frameworks of the 148 Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union on 23 March.

Welcoming the participants, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis said that this was that first APA co-ordinating meeting to be held under the aegis of the Inter-Parliamentary Union with Azerbaijani chairmanship.

The Speaker of the Milli Majlis proceeded to refer to the 14^th Plenary Session ‘Fostering Regional Co-operation for Sustainable Development in Asia’ of the APA that had been held in Baku on 20-24 February. At that meeting Azerbaijan was officially elected Chairman of the Organisation for the period from 2024 to 2025. Sahiba Gafarova then expressed a belief that this would open a new page for both the APA and Azerbaijan.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova went further to say that Attended by representatives of 26 states and 8 international organisations, the 14^th Plenary Session of the APA had provided a precious opportunity to exchange views on the development of co-operation within the Organisation and on various issues of common interest related to regional and international processes. The Baku Declaration adopted based on the results of the Plenary Session reflected the general position of the participants regarding the issues discussed.

It was said as the speech continued that the issues discussed at the 14^th Plenary Session had included the item on climate change which binds all of us to act more decisively. The Speaker of the Milli Majlis said in this relation that the international community had unanimously elected Azerbaijan as a COP29 host at the end of last year. The Speaker emphasised that an honour and privilege for us to host such a significant event. Azerbaijan is one of the recognised global centres of multiculturalism and plays a role in building bridges between the Global North and the Global South. Azerbaijan is in an ideal position to facilitate comprehensive negotiations to achieve tangible progress in the COP29 climate negotiations.

The Speaker expressed a hope that today’s meeting was going to serve the serve the purpose of strengthening and developing parliamentary diplomacy, the role of which increases constantly. In contemporary conditions, parliamentary diplomacy can strengthen trust between countries and have a positive impact on solving current international and regional problems. Parliamentary participation in the process of resolving crises, conflicts and parliamentary diplomacy can successfully complement classical government diplomacy, making an invaluable contribution to it.    

The global trends aimed at expanding the activities of interparliamentary organizations, the development of legal frameworks regulating interparliamentary co-operation, the constantly growing involvement of parliaments in global decision-making processes – all this indicates to the need for further evolution of interparliamentary co-operation.

As the Speaker of the Milli Majlis pointed out, the role of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly should be especially emphasised in the context. It is a significant platform of parliamentary diplomacy that unites common efforts to address current issues and challenges in order to achieve strengthening of co-operation, peace, and stability in Asia and the world. We have to take all measures to improve the effectiveness of this platform, according to Sahiba Gafarova.

Concluding her speech, the Speaker remarked that, apart from the issues discussed, we should also seriously think about how two organisations – the APA and the IPU – can co-ordinate actions and efforts to achieve more effective results in realising common goals. Establishment of real co-operation mechanisms can help increase the resources of both sides. It will undoubtedly complement each other’s activities and enhance the effect of parliamentary diplomacy.

The meeting continued with the speeches of the representatives of the parliaments of the APA Member States regarding the APA common position statement at the 148^th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union as well as about further deepening of co-operation within the framework of the Organisation.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis