By Manal Abdel Fattah
The President of the Arab Parliament H.E. Mr. Adel bin Abdulrahman AlAsoomi, met with H.E. Ms. Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, on the margins of his participation in the 14th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly hosted by Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan under the theme “Fostering regional cooperation for sustainable development”.
At the beginning of the meeting, H.E. Mr. President of the Arab Parliament congratulated H.E. Ms. Sahiba Gafarova on her assumption of the presidency of the 14th Plenary Session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, and expressed his confidence that the Presidency of the Parliament of Azerbaijan would play a significant role in strengthening the role of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly which represents an important platform that reflects joint cooperation and deepens parliamentary dialogue between Asian and friendly parliaments, primarily the Arab parliaments, notably since about half of the Arab States belong to the Asian continent.
During the meeting, AlAsoomi emphasized the important role of parliaments at all international, regional and national levels, and the need to strengthen cooperation and coordination between parliaments as a key pillar for addressing current challenges.
He reiterated the keenness of the Arab Parliament to strengthen Arab relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan at all levels, as well as strengthening solidarity between the Arab and Islamic worlds and defending issues of common concern foremost among which is the Palestinian question which is at its most dangerous stages in the light of the war crimes and genocide committed by the occupation forces in the Gaza Strip on a daily basis over the course of about five months.
AlAsoomi underlined that the continuation of meetings and coordination between the Arab Parliament and the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan serve the interests of the Arab and Azerbaijani peoples and enhance solidarity between the Arab and Islamic worlds in general.
From her side, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan stressed the importance of strengthening joint cooperation between the Arab States and the Republic of Azerbaijan in the light of historical, cultural and civilisational commonalities between the two sides, commending the parliamentary diplomacy led by the Arab Parliament in the development of international relations, also appreciating the Arab Parliament’s keenness to promote relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan by enhancing continuous meetings between the two sides.