Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova who is in the Kingdom of Bahrain on an official visit delivered a speech at the 16^th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (the APA) on 26 January.

In her address, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis mentioned the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan having assumed the APA chairmanship at the 14^th plenary session held in Baku in February 2024. Our country was making energetic endeavours during her chairmanship tenure to deepen co-operation and dialogue within the format of the Assembly. That was a token of the importance that Azerbaijan attaches to the APA as a considerable inter-parliamentary platform. Sahiba Gafarova emphasised that the Assembly has already become an important multilateral institute of constructive dialogue and solidarity by the 20^th anniversary of its establishment that is marked this current year.

Talking about the work done over the two years past, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova mentioned the expansion of the ranks of the organisation during the Azerbaijani chairmanship. For instance, the Consultative Council of the Sultanate of Oman became a full member of the APA whilst the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus was granted an observer status in the organisation at the 15^th plenary session in Baku last year. More international organisations hold the observer status in the APA as well; the Association of Secretaries General of Arab Parliaments was granted the status.

Sahiba Gafarova remarked that special attention was paid during the Azerbaijani chairmanship to issues of institutional development; besides, the Bureau meetings were resumed and are held within the frameworks of the Standing Committee meetings now. It was said that that, in turn, makes it possible to consider and discuss more promptly matters put on the agenda of the organisation. At the same time, as was stressed in the speech, close attention was given also to developing new mechanisms that would bolster the Assembly’s activities; amongst others, Azerbaijan fielded the initiative of establishing the Women’s Affairs Commission. Besides, as was then said, a consensus on the decision to form the ABA Budget was achieved during our chairmanship, which mattered for enhancement of the capabilities of the Assembly.

As was mentioned in the address, extensive work was carried out on improving the co-ordinating mechanisms of the APA; 4 co‑ordination meetings of the organisation were arranged in the format of the Inter‑Parliamentary Union during our chairmanship. Those meetings were effective in terms of strengthening co-operation and co-ordination with regards to international matters of common interest.

As the Speaker of the Milli Majlis emphasised, heightened attention was also devoted during the chairmanship of Azerbaijan to the issues of strengthening the role of the APA in parliamentary diplomacy and increasing its authority in the international arena. She said that she deemed advancement of the co-operation between the APA and other inter-parliamentary organisations an efficient means to achieve such a goal. For instance, fruitful ties were built between the APA and the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement wherein Azerbaijan is chairing currently, with the APA Delegation regularly becoming engaged in the activities of the Network.

According to the Speaker of Parliament, promotion of inter-cultural and inter-civilisation dialogue is no longer a choice but a must in view of the difficulties and conflicts present in the world. Achieving global peace and prosperity depends firstly on building trust and mutual understanding amongst nations, after all. The Asian Region has a great potential in this context thanks to its wealth of heritage. The diversity of the region should not be viewed as dividing lines amongst our countries; rather, it ought to be viewed as a value that brings us closer together and completes our dialogue contently.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova emphasised in her speech Azerbaijan’s commitment to inter-cultural dialogue, highlighting also our country’s continuous contribution to this process and mentioning in this relation the country having hosted such influential events as the UN Alliance of Civilisations Forum, the Baku Global Forum and the Global Summit of Religious Leaders. It was mentioned that the UN had recognised as the main global platform of inter-cultural and inter-civilisation dialogue the Global Forum on Intercultural Dialogue held under the aegis of the ‘Baku process’ initiated by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. As regards the International Parliamentary Conference which the Milli Majlis organised on the sidelines of the 6^th Forum in May 2024, it added the ‘parliamentary dimension’ to that dialogue.

The Speaker of the Milli Majlis reminded the assembly that, as she had spoken at the 6^th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in July 2025, she had called on that organisation to add inter-cultural dialogue to its future agenda and activity scope. According to her, the relevant solution endeavours of the APA are highly commendable.

Turning then to the matter of tackling climate change, which is a priority item on the APA agenda, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis remarked that Azerbaijan, which successfully hosted COP29 in 2024, was able to secure global solidarity by building bridges between different sides. Confidence was expressed that friendly Türkiye, another state of the region, will also host COP31 at a high level, and it was stressed that its efforts in this area will play an important role in achieving global climate goals.

Emphasising in her speech the significance of another important event that our region will host in 2026, namely the 13^th session of the World Urban Forum in Baku in May of this year, Speaker of Parliament Sahiba Gafarova said that sustainable urbanisation is closely linked to the global development agenda. She invited all the APA Member Countries to take an active part in this Forum.

The APA chairmanship was ceded officially to the Council of Representatives of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis