Geneva, March 26, AZERTAC

The 3rd Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network (NAM PN) has been held in Geneva, Switzerland.

The event, chaired by Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis and Chairperson of NAM Parliamentary Network, brought together 53 delegations representing member parliaments and international organizations.

In her opening remarks, Speaker of Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova expressed her hope that the conference would make significant contribution to the further development of the Network and the cooperation among the member countries.

Sahiba Gafarova hailed the fact that the number of participants in the conferences of the NAM Parliamentary Network has been continuously increasing since the inaugural conference held in Madrid in November 2021.

"Today the NAM Parliamentary Network represents more than half of the parliaments of the member states of the Organization, which indicates not only our commitment to promoting the values and principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, but also our intention to enhance solidarity and cooperation among our parliaments," Gafarova noted.

Noting that Azerbaijan passed on the Chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement to the Republic of Uganda at the 19th Summit of the NAM Heads of State and Government held in Kampala, the Republic of Uganda this January, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova mentioned that Azerbaijan's chairmanship of NAM was marked by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev's commitment to strengthening solidarity and unity, as well as multilateral cooperation among the NAM member countries. "A number of initiatives put forward by President Ilham Aliyev, for instance, the establishment of the NAM Parliamentary Network and the Youth Organization of the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as the first steps taken towards the establishment of the Women's Platform of the Non-Aligned Movement, were of great importance in the institutional development of the Movement," Gafarova underlined.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova also highlighted the work undertaken to develop the institutional dialogue with other inter-parliamentary organizations.

Saying that the theme of today's conference is "Revitalizing parliamentary action in combating climate change", Speaker of Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova described the climate change as one of the most crucial and urgent challenges that needs to focus on. "At the same time, it is a challenge requiring global responses and joint efforts. Azerbaijan was unanimously chosen as the host country for COP29 and Baku will host this event this November, the fact that we are all proud of. This is a clear evidence of the recognition of Azerbaijan's efforts in the fight against climate change not only on a national, but also on a regional and global scale," Gafarova said.

"Azerbaijan has declared 3024 as the "Green World Solidarity Year". Today, Azerbaijan has a very serious green energy transition agenda, and large investments are being made in both the production and export of renewable energy in the country," Sahiba Gafarova added.

"On the initiative of Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Martin Chungong, Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis is planning to organize a Parliamentary Meeting on the sidelines of COP29 in partnership with the IPU. This event will provide parliamentarians an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas, and determine what steps should be taken to combat climate change. The meeting will make a parliamentary contribution to multilateral climate action," Sahiba Gafarova underlined.

Other speakers at the event included IPU President Tulia Ackson, IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong, Speaker of the People's National Assembly Ibrahim Boughali, Head of the People’s Majlis of Maldives Mohamed Aslam, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Parliament of Nepal Devraj Ghimir, Director-General of the ICESCO Salim bin Mohammed Almalik and MPs from member countries.

The speakers commended the excellent organization of the conference. They also hailed the successful activity and the work undertaken towards the institutional development of the NAM Parliamentary Network, which was established on the initiative of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The NAM Parliamentary Network concluded its 3rd Conference with the adoption of the Geneva Declaration.

Elgun Niftali

Special correspondent