Speaker of Shura Council Affirms Qatar's Support for Joint Work within Regional, International Systems.

26 October 2019




HE Speaker of the Shura Council Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud affirmed the State of Qatar's keenness on supporting joint work within the international and regional systems, which it has joined, and its commitment to work towards achieving integration among the various member states in those systems.

His Excellency said in his speech today at the opening session of the first meeting of the Executive Council of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) currently held in the city of Riza, Turkey: "The State of Qatar is keen to support joint action within the regional and international systems which it has joined and is committed to working towards integration among the Asian countries by expanding and strengthening cooperation among them and establishing partnerships with other regional organizations, unions and blocs to serve the interests of the countries of the region in line with the objectives of Qatar Nation Vision 2030".

He expressed happiness to participate in the meeting of the Executive Council of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, and voiced thanks and appreciation to the brotherly Republic of Turkey's president, parliament and people, and to HE President of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly Mustafa Sentop, the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for the kind invitation and good reception as well as for the preparation and organization of this meeting.

HE Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to HE President of the Republic Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appreciating in this context the role of Turkey in supporting the APA to achieve its objectives in establishing security and stability in the region and the Asian continent. His Excellency voiced Qatar's understanding of the recent steps taken by the Republic of Turkey to preserve its security and stability, lauding Turkey's emphasis on the safety and stability of Syrian territory.

He underlined the importance of the meeting currently underway to promote cooperation among Asian countries and support development in Asia. "This parliamentary system, which is the second largest parliamentary assembly after the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), meets today to consider several proposed social, cultural, political, economic, sustainable development, political, planning and budgetary resolutions," he said explaining that these resolutions are aimed at promoting and strengthening cooperation among the countries of the region and consolidating sustainable development in Asia.

His Excellency also expressed thanks to the Presidency and Secretariat of APA and to all members participating in the meeting, who welcomed the granting of full membership of Qatar's Shura Council, a topic for discussion before the meeting. "We have received many assurances, welcoming Qatar's membership in this assembly," he said.

He also expressed pride in joining this parliamentary organization because of its importance in reflecting the voice of the peoples in the region and because of the lofty and ambitious goals that the organization is working to achieve.

In this context, His Excellency referred to the draft resolutions before the meeting, which include all issues of interest to the region, which reflects the active role of the organization in enhancing joint cooperation in various fields. He also stressed that these draft resolutions would no doubt have an effective impact in enhancing cooperation between the countries of the region, renaissance of their peoples and the restoration of their rights, especially the Palestinian people.

"Joining the APA, we hope to push forward joint action towards the Assembly's goals, and that our efforts would be crowned with success in supporting just causes in the region, especially the fundamental issue that has been unresolved for many decades, namely the Palestinian Cause." he said.

In this regard HE Al Mahmoud went on saying: "For more than 70 years, we have suffered from the effects of the occupation and aggression carried out by the Israeli entity since its establishment, its failure to comply with international resolutions and its rejection of the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, which led to instability in the region, continued wars, destabilizing the security of the neighboring countries and occupying their territories, which constitutes a threat to international peace and security."

HE Speaker of Shura Council wished the meeting success "in producing resolutions that emphasize the need to address urgent issues and to establish the principles of fruitful cooperation that leads to integration in various areas that benefit the peoples of the region and that the goal of all is to work for the achievement of security, peace and prosperity of our countries and peoples and the peoples of the world."