The 1^st meeting of the Organising Committee of the 6^th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament began at the HQ of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva, Swiss Confederation, on 16 May.

Speaker of Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova took part in the meeting and made a speech at it.

President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Tulia Ackson opened the meeting and introduced the Speakers of Parliament participating in it

Then, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Martin Chungong announced the agenda of the meeting and the topics to be discussed at it.

Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova took the floor and shared her thoughts about the 6^th World Conference of Speakers of  Parliament.

She said that strengthening the parliamentary dimension of international co-operation had been one of the main topics of discussion at the five previous conferences. Today, parliamentary diplomacy and co-operation have expanded their scope compared to previous years. Noting that our parliaments co-operate and create new mechanisms of interaction both bilaterally and in international parliamentary organisations, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova described the Inter-Parliamentary Union in this context as a particularly important platform uniting our parliaments. Our common views, goals and objectives are reflected in this organisation, she remarked. 

Saying then that the collaboration between the Inter-parliamentary Union and the UN, specifically, evidences clearly what a quite remarkable level of parliamentary co-operation has been attained to date, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis said she was confident that matters related to strengthening the practical co-operation between the UN and the Inter-parliamentary Union would be tabled at the scheduled conference. We ought to consider therefore a more systemic, institutional and practical incarnation of this collaboration, which will naturally elevate parliaments’’ involvement in the countering of the challenges everybody is faced with to a new level, Sahiba Gafarova stressed.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova underscored the necessity of reforming the United Nations Organisation before saying that, given the challenges that the world is facing now, multilateral mechanisms have an important part to fulfil in the advancement of the joint efforts and solutions. But we all admit that these mechanisms and that multilateral system ought to be more powerful, efficient and inclusive. Sahiba Gafarova said with regret that the situation as it is today does not quite meet our needs. According to the Speaker, there is  a consensus to the effect that a multilateral system should rest on reforms aiming to make the work of the UN and of its Security Council more effective. Naturally, there are many discussions as to how those reforms should look. But we still do not see tangible solutions to carry into life. In this regard, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis suggested that the Inter-Parliamentary Union should generate new ideas and elaborate new proposals as to reforming the UN, and then have those suggestions  reviewed in the course of eventual work. She said also that such suggestions  would ensure a parliamentary input in this process.

The Organisation Committee meeting continued; the other Speakers of Parliament took the floor.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis