The Shura Council State of Qatar

HE Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council Dr. Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti has underlined the strength of the relations bonding the State of Qatar with All Asian countries, stressing that those relations are rapidly growing in different spheres.

Addressing the 14th Plenary Session of the Asian Parliamentary Association (APA), held in Baku through Friday, Her Excellency referred to the developmental, economic, and trade partnerships, between Qatar and the Asian countries, affirming all parties' common resolve to achieve peace, security, stability and prosperity in the region.

The session was themed "Fostering Regional Cooperation for Sustainable Development in Asia".

Her Excellency drew attention to the State of Qatar's support for the main objectives on which the Asian Cooperation Dialogue Initiative was based, primarily, strengthening intra-relations between member states, coordinating political positions, consolidating aspects of cooperation in various fields, and realising common interests. She noted the great attention that Qatar attaches to the Asian Cooperation Dialogue, moved by its firm belief in the importance and role of this dialogue in strengthening relations between the 35 member states of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue.

In her speech, HE Dr. Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti recalled Qatari efforts to achieve rapprochement between Asian countries, reviewing the most important meetings and gatherings hosted by Doha, and the coordination visits that took place in this framework.

His Excellency also highlighted the distinguished global economic status of Asian countries, gained through adopting good neighbourliness, friendship, dialogue and cooperation in common development. There is still an urgent need for more cooperation to achieve sustainable development goals, she pointed.

HE the Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council also touched on the 16th ministerial meeting of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue held in Doha in 2019, and its recommendations, contained in the Doha Declaration, which include encouraging free trade and investment among Asian countries and removing obstacles thereto.

Regarding the Plenary Session APA, Her Excellency stressed that it is of special importance as it addresses supporting and strengthening regional cooperation for sustainable development in Asia at a time when statistics show a slowdown in the progress of Asian countries in achieving sustainable development, which warns that many Asian countries will fail to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030.

She called for cooperation and solidarity to help countries that have not achieved the goals, by increasing development cooperation in order to provide clean energy and making initiatives to increase investments, intensifying efforts to remove carbon dioxide and enhance green energy capabilities, providing quality education in small island developing states, and establishing new regional cooperative platforms in Asia.

Her Excellency appealed to all parliamentarians to respond to the call of conscience, to stand by the brothers in the Gaza Strip and in all the occupied Palestinian territories, to support them in the face of the brutal aggression inflicted on them by the occupying Israeli entity, and to reject double standards in dealing with this continuing aggression.

At the end of her speech, HE Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council Dr. Hamda bint Hassan Al Sulaiti called for more parliamentary efforts to stop the brutal massacres immediately, and to deliver humanitarian and medical aid to the besieged brothers in Gaza, calling on the APA to come up with decisions that lead to achieving this.

Meanwhile, the session saw HE Shura Council Member En. Ahmed bin Hitmi Al Hitmi, elected as Chairman of the Budget and Planning Committee of the APA.