BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 26. The Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament, Sahiba Gafarova, spotlighted the contribution of Azerbaijan's chairmanship in the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) to the growth of the assembly's role in parliamentary diplomacy during her speech at the 16th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) in Bahrain, a source in the parliament told Trend.
In her speech, Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Sahiba Gafarova noted that Azerbaijan assumed the chairmanship of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) during the 14th plenary session held in Baku in February 2024. Throughout its tenure, Azerbaijan has actively worked to strengthen cooperation and foster dialogue within the assembly, underscoring the significance the country places on the APA as a key interparliamentary platform. Gafarova further emphasized that, in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the APA’s founding this year, the Assembly has solidified its position as a crucial multilateral institution for constructive dialogue and solidarity.
Reflecting on the achievements of the past two years, Gafarova highlighted the expansion of the APA’s membership under Azerbaijan’s leadership. Notably, during the 15th plenary session held in Baku last year, the Council of Oman became a full member of the APA, while the Republican Council of the National Assembly of Belarus was granted observer status. The number of international organizations holding observer status in the APA also increased, with the Association of Secretaries General of Arab Parliaments joining their ranks.
Gafarova highlighted that during the Azerbaijani chairmanship, special attention was paid to institutional development issues, Bureau meetings were resumed, and they were held within the framework of the meetings of the Standing Committees. She noted that this, in turn, allows for a more operational review and discussion of issues on the organization's agenda. At the same time, the speaker emphasized that great attention was paid to the creation of new mechanisms that would strengthen the activities of the assembly, including the initiative put forward by Azerbaijan to establish a Commission on Women. She also noted that during the Azerbaijani chairmanship, a consensus was reached on the decision to form the APA budget, which is of great importance in terms of expanding the capabilities of the assembly.
She said that extensive work was carried out to improve the coordination mechanisms of APA, and during the Azerbaijani chairmanship, four coordination meetings of the organization were held within the framework of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. According to her, these meetings were effective in terms of strengthening cooperation and coordination on international issues of common interest.
The speaker emphasized that during Azerbaijan's chairmanship, special attention was paid to the issues of increasing the role of APA in parliamentary diplomacy and its international reputation. She pointed out that she considers the development of cooperation between APA and other inter-parliamentary organizations to be an effective means of achieving this goal. In particular, fruitful relations have been established between APA and the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement, which Azerbaijan currently chairs, and the APA delegation is regularly represented in the work of the Network.
The speaker noted that, against the backdrop of the current difficulties and conflicts in the world, the promotion of intercultural and inter-civilizational dialogue is no longer an option, but a necessity because achieving global peace and prosperity, first of all, requires building trust and mutual understanding between peoples. According to the speaker, in this sense, the Asian region has great potential with its rich heritage. She said that the diversity of the region should not be perceived as a dividing line between the countries, but as a value that brings them closer and makes their dialogue meaningful.
In her speech, Gafarova underscored that Azerbaijan is a committed supporter of intercultural dialogue, and noted that the country has made continuous contributions to this process by hosting prestigious events such as the UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum, the Global Baku Forum, and the Summit of World Religious Leaders. It was noted that the World Forum for Intercultural Dialogue, held within the framework of the "Baku Process" initiated by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, is recognized by the UN as the main global platform for intercultural and interreligious dialogue. The Interparliamentary Conference, organized by the Azerbaijani parliament within the framework of the 6th Forum held in May 2024, gave this dialogue a "parliamentary dimension".
The speaker recalled that during her speech at the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in July 2025, she called on the IPU to include intercultural dialogue in its future agenda and activities. He expressed his appreciation for APA's efforts to address this issue.
Touching upon the issue of combating climate change, which is a priority on APA's agenda, the speaker said that Azerbaijan, which successfully hosted COP29 in 2024, is building bridges between different parties and promoting global solidarity.
She expressed confidence that another regional state, brotherly Türkiye, will host COP31 at a high level, and its activities in this field will play an important role in achieving global climate goals.
Furthermore, Gafarova emphasized the importance of another important event that the region will host in 2026 - the 13th session of the World Urban Forum to be held in Baku in May of this year, adding that sustainable urban development is closely related to the global development agenda. She invited all APA member countries to actively participate in this forum.
The chairmanship of APA has been officially transferred to the Council of Representatives of Bahrain.
