BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 19. Substantial initiatives were put forward during Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of the APA as to development of the institutional capacity of the Assembly, expansion of its ranks and enhancement of the effectiveness of its existing bodies, said Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova in her address at the Co–ordination Meeting of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) held in the city of Geneva of Switzerland, Trend reports.
Informing about the work carried out since Azerbaijan's assumption of the chairmanship of the organisation from 2024, Sahiba Gafarova stated that efforts were made during this period to expand co–operation and dialogue within the framework of the Assembly. Azerbaijan has put forward a number of priorities related to the further strengthening of joint work – development of the institutional capacity of the APA, expansion of its ranks and enhancement of the effectiveness of its existing bodies. The ranks of the organisation expanded during the indicated period. Thus, the Majlis al-Shura of the Sultanate of Oman became a full member of the APA whereas the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus acquired an observer status in it. The number of international organisations holding the observer status in the APA increased as well; the Association of Secretaries-General of Arab Parliaments was granted the observer status.
The consensus regarding the decision about forming the APA budget was achieved during the chairmanship of Azerbaijan, was mentioned then; that was extremely important for the continued strengthening and capacity–building of the Assembly.