Ms. Sahiba Gafarova, Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, delivered a speech at the 8th G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit held in Jakarta.

Ms. Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, delivered a speech at the 8th G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit, held on October 5 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network expressed her gratitude to Ms. Puan Maharani, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, for the invitation to participate in the event and highlighted that the Summit was dedicated to very important and topical issues.   

According to the Chairperson, poverty, humanitarian crises and conflicts, social inequalities, climate change and other such modern challenges may not be solved by oneself. Furthermore, an important issue that the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered for the whole world was that global challenges require global solutions and that collective efforts and joint action were extremely crucial. As Parliamentarians - representatives of our peoples - we must participate in discussions on finding the best solutions to the problems that concern us all. Parliamentary cooperation platforms were proof of our commitment and determination to work together for a better world. In this sense, the G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit was a very important event in defining the role that parliaments play, as well as their contribution to solving contemporary problems. It was an important framework for bringing parliamentarians together and conducting comprehensive discussions on the various aspects of cooperation between the two branches of power – parliament and government.

In her speech, Ms. Sahiba Gafarova provided extensive information about another newly created framework of inter-parliamentary cooperation - The non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network. She noted that the establishment of the Parliamentary Network was the result of the initiative put forward by H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and incumbent Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement. This was an indicator of Azerbaijan's strong support and commitment to inter-parliamentary cooperation. Azerbaijan offered to expand and deepen the interaction and cooperation between the parliamentarians of the Non-Aligned Movement member countries. Last November in Madrid, the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network was established on the sidelines of the 143rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The Baku Conference hosted by Azerbaijan from June 30 to July 1 of this year was an important stage in the development of the Parliamentary Network. With the participation of more than 40 member parliaments and 8 international parliamentary organizations, the “Statute on Working Modalities of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network” was adopted and the official logo and flag were approved. Furthermore, the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons of the Network were elected for the next three years. The next conference of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network was planned to be held in Manama next March on the sidelines of the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. As the current Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, Ms. Sahiba Gafarova expressed her belief that the Parliamentary Network would become an important platform for promoting multilateralism, dialogue, and inter-parliamentary cooperation. She added that the Parliamentary Network is ready to contribute to common goals by actively cooperating with other parliamentary organizations.

Ms. Sahiba Gafarova underlined important steps taken in the direction of the Non-Aligned Movement’s institutional development under the chairmanship of Azerbaijan. The establishment of the Youth Organization of the Non-Aligned Movement in July of this year on the basis of the Youth Network and the initiative to establish the Support Office of the Non-Aligned Movement in New York were among the steps taken by Azerbaijan for the institutional development of the Non-Aligned Movement. On the other hand, holding a Special Session of the UN General Assembly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2020 upon the initiative of H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, adopting resolutions on ensuring equal, affordable, timely and universal access to COVID-19 vaccines, as well as the initiation by H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, of UNCTAD15 - the UN High-Level Panel which focused on the preparation of recommendations for global measures in the post-pandemic period, were the evidence of our country's contributions to international cooperation and the significance attached by the country to a joint approach to solving global problems.

Ms. Sahiba Gafarova emphasized that if we wanted to achieve success through collective efforts aimed at solving problems of international importance, we must strengthen the efficiency of international institutions, implement the accepted documents, and put an end to double standards and selective approaches.