The Shura Council State of Qatar

HE Speaker of the Shura Council Ahmed Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud said that the four states blockading Qatar did not present a joint statement to the general secretariat of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) during the 139th assembly objecting to having Qatar host the 140th assembly. His Excellency also said that such a statement, if it existed, would have been known by all participants and would have been available in the union's record. His Excellency added that the State of Qatar would also have been notified of the objection, in line with protocol. His Excellency held today a joint press conference with HE President of the IPU Gabriela Cuevas Barron and HE Secretary-General of the IPU Martin Chungong. In it, His Excellency said that the IPU's assembly meeting's minutes are all available on the internet for anyone who wanted to verify the facts.

His Excellency said that the only country that objected was Syria, and stressed that the statement of the blockading countries was filled with the same false accusations they have been launching since they unjustly blockading the State of Qatar. HE the Speaker of the Shura Council highlighted that the strong presence of parliaments from all over the world is proof of the invalidity of the blockading countries' accusations. For his part, HE the Secretary-General of the IPU reiterated what HE the Speaker said on the subject. HE the Speaker of the Shura Council also said that the fabrications of the blockading countries was a desperate attempt to use the IPU's platform to promote its political agenda against the State of Qatar, highlighting that this was something the member countries are well aware off. Barron had praised the unprecedented level of participation in the IPU's assembly in Doha, noting that delegations from 162 countries took part.

She also highlighted that women represented 30 percent of the attendees and youth were 13 percent. Barron stressed that the IPU's assembly has a great opportunity to change the world for the better. Responding to a question on the union's position with regards to the ban blockading countries imposed on their parliamentarians for this year's assembly, HE Barron said that the union is seeking to get all the region's parliamentary representative to the negotiations table. On Palestine and Al Quds, the President of the IPU called for respecting human rights and international law, and to work towards a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.