Ms. Sahiba Gafarova, Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, held meetings with the heads of several parliaments and the AIPA Secretary General in Cambodia

On November 22, Ms. Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, held meetings with the heads of parliaments of several countries, as well as the Secretary General of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), as part of her visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia to participate at the 43rd AIPA General Assembly.

During meetings with the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Thailand Mr. Chuan Leekpai,   Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore Mr. Chuan-Jin Tan, Chairperson of the National Assembly of the Federal Parliament of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal Mr. Ganesh Prasad Timilsina and AIPA Secretary General PAMs. Nguyen Tuong Van Ms. Sahiba Gafarova stated that such parliamentary platforms were a good opportunity to continue the dialogue and discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation issues. 

Ms. Sahiba Gafarova underlined that H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and incumbent Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, initiated the development of the parliamentary dimension of the NAM and the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network was established in Madrid in November 2021. Its First Conference was held in Baku in June of this year. The Baku Conference was attended by parliamentarians from more than 40 NAM Member States, as well as 8 inter-parliamentary organizations. During the conference, the “Baku Declaration” and the “Statute on working modalities of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network” were adopted and the logo and the official flag of the Network were approved. The next conference of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network is planned to be held in Manama next March. During the meetings, information on the work carried out in preparation for the event was also provided.

The topics covered during meetings also included the importance of cooperation within the framework of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network and steps toward the institutional development of this organization.

The Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network pointed out that the Parliamentary Network is ready to contribute to the common goals by actively communicating with other parliamentary organizations, including the AIPA.

Mr. Chuan Leekpai, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Thailand,  expressed his satisfaction with the meeting with Ms. Sahiba Gafarova, Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network. Mr. Chuan Leekpai pointed out that the House of Representatives of Thailand is interested in participating in the activities of the Parliamentary Network.

Mr. Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, Chairperson of the National Assembly of the Federal Parliament of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, shared his views on Azerbaijan's successful Chairmanship at the Non-Aligned Movement. He expressed that Azerbaijan's Chairmanship at the Movement increased the efficiency of the organization. The Chairperson of the National Assembly of Nepal also congratulated Azerbaijan on the initiative of establishing the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network. Mr. Ganesh Prasad Timilsina noted that Nepal would strengthen its cooperation within the framework of the Parliamentary Network.

Mr. Chuan-Jin Tan, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Singapore, expressed that such events were a good opportunity to discuss issues related to cooperation, noting that his country attached great importance to international cooperation issues.

At the meeting with Ms. Nguyen Tuong Van, AIPA Secretary General, discussions were held regarding the possible future cooperation between the AIPA and the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network.