The Shura Council State of Qatar

A ceremony was held Monday to mark the 130th anniversary of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), on the margin of the Seventh Global Conference of Parliamentarians Against Corruption which is hosted by the Shura Council, in presence of HE IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Barron and HE IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong as well as a lineup of Their Excellences Speakers of friendly parliaments.

On the occasion, HE Speaker of the Shura Council Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud expressed pleaser at speaking on the occasion, pointing that the IPU was established on June, 30, 1889. He added that the IPU General Assembly decided to celebrate the 130th anniversary over a whole year in different countries.

HE al Mahmoud said that marking this occasion today, comes in line with the slogan '130 Years of Empowering Parliamentarians', which was adopted for the period from June 2019 to June 2020, when various parliaments in the world are organizing different events to introduce the union and its parliamentary diplomatic work.

"In recognition of the role of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and its various contributions, the General Assembly of the United Nations decided to dedicate June 30 of each year to celebrate the International Day of Parliamentarism" he added.

"The Inter-Parliamentary Union has started as an organization for parliamentarians who believed in its goals and worked for them, and with the years and successive achievements of the Union, it has become an international organization with national parliaments of sovereign countries of the world under its banner," he said adding that "the number of IPU member countries has reached 180, and this number continues to grow and will soon include all the parliaments of the United Nations member countries".

HE Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud pointed out that " Since its establishment, IPU has organized a group of regional activities on sustainable development and has mobilized nearly half of the world's national parliaments to take action on fundamental issues facing nations such as climate change and better health for all. For 130 years, it has been serving as a global forum for parliamentary diplomacy by bringing together conflicting parties around the dialogue table in the days of the Cold War, in the Middle East conflict, and the inter-Korean conflict".

His Excellency went on saying " We are pleased and proud to see cooperation between the IPU and the United Nations strengthened over the days, and that coordination between them is constantly increasing in order to serve the noble goals that they are working to achieve, foremost of which is the maintenance of global peace and security and the eradication of poverty and underdevelopment in all regions of the world".

HE Al Mahmoud commended the strong relations between the IPU and the Shura Council, pointing that "Since the Shura Council in the State of Qatar joined the Inter-Parliamentary Union, its delegations have participated in all conferences and activities of the IPU and have strived to support its work in various fields". This cooperation culminated in the convening of the 140th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the associated meetings in Doha, which featured the largest number of participants, as well as heads of Parliament and their deputies, he added.

His Excellency added, "The most prominent and important event during these meetings was the speech of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, which embodied His Highness' belief in the principles and parliamentary foundations, respect for human rights and the State of Qatar's commitment to work to establish lasting peace and fruitful constructive cooperation between nations".

Concluding his speech, HE Speaker of the Shura Council Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud congratulated the attendees on IPU 130th anniversary, reiterating the Shura Council's support for the Union's activities, as well as its willingness to contribute to the implementation of IPU programs.