Tashkent: The 150th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-150) was convened in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Saturday with the participation of the Shura Council.
Speaker of the Shura Council HE Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim, chaired the Shura Council's delegation at the opening of these meetings.
The session's agenda comprises numerous topics related to the current global issues, foremost of which are the developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, issues of international peace and security, the environmental governance mechanisms to combat climate change-induced consequences, and the reinvigoration of legislative frameworks to achieve social and economic justice.
Participants are set to review the parliamentary initiatives that aim to accelerate the pace of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at both the regional and global levels, in addition to assessing the progress made toward their realization.
HE the Speaker of the Shura Council chaired the coordinating meeting of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA), which tackled the areas of regional cooperation among the member states, bolstering the role of Asian parliaments in supporting development and stability, in addition to crystalizing a unified position on the emergency item the Arab Group intends to submit during the General Assembly, calling for an end to the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and all occupied Palestinian territories, and rejecting the displacement of the brothers in Palestine.
HE Al Ghanim has so far participated in the coordinating meeting of the Islamic Parliamentary Group, which deliberated on key issues on the global stage and ways to coordinate positions within the IPU's General Assembly to amplify the voice of the Islamic world in international legislative forums.
In addition, the Shura Council, represented by Member of the Shura Council HE Dr. Sultan bin Hassan Al Dosari, took part in the joint meeting between the legislative councils of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states and the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC).
The participants discussed ways to boost parliamentary cooperation and coordinate positions on the issues set forth on the agenda of the 150th Assembly of IPU and the 215th session of the Governing Council, in addition to the recent parliamentary developments of shared interest.
This convention comes in the wake of rapid regional and global challenges through which parliaments strive to enhance multilateral cooperation and bolster the principles of sustainable peace and development in alignment with the IPU's goals.
Regional and global crises dominated the speakers' deliberations during the opening ceremony, primarily HE Chairperson of the Senate of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Tanzila Narbayeva; HE President of the IPU, Dr. Tulia Axson; and HE Secretary-General of the IPU, Martin Chungong, in addition to delivering a visual presentation entitled From Paris to Tashkent: In Celebration of the 150th Assembly of the IPU.
