PHOTO: Tasnim News Agency. Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani (right) and the Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin (left), met in the Qatari capital of Doha on Sunday on the sidelines of a biannual session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has invited an Iranian delegation to Moscow in order to participate in the International Forum on the Development of Parliamentarism.
"On July 1-2, the second International Forum on the Development of Parliamentarism will take place. We would be glad if you come or send a delegation," Volodin told Speaker of the Parliament of Iran Ali Larijani on the sidelines of the assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Qatar.
Volodin added that the format of Russian-Iranian relations is expanding, inviting Larijani personally to visit Russia. "We would be glad to see you and meet you at any time. When the schedule allows it, I would like to invite you to Moscow. The tougher the times are, the more often we need to communicate. We see the challenges standing in front of the world," Volodin said.
Speaker Larijani responded that in order to make cooperation agreements between Iran and Russia operational, it is necessary to hold joint meetings with representatives of the executive branches of the two governments in attendance.
PHOTO: VNA. National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (left) and Prime Minister of Qatar Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani (right)
Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan met with Prime Minister of Qatar Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani on the sidelines of the 140th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-140) in Doha on April 7.
She congratulated Qatar on its past achievements, including among one of the countries globally achieving the highest income per capita and winning of the Asian Cup Championship 2019 by its national football team.
Recalling Qatar Airways’ launch of direct flights to Hanoi and the central city of Da Nang in 2018, the leader stressed that Vietnam wants to continue partnering with Qatar in the fields of trade, investment and tourism. She also hoped that the Qatar PM will create favorable conditions for Vietnamese firms. She expressed her belief that under the sound leadership of the Emir and direction of the PM, Qatar will reap more important achievements in the future.
PM Al Thani, for his part, thanked the Vietnamese National Assembly for supporting Qatar parliament in hosting the IPU-140. He said the IPU-140 is important to strengthen ties among parliaments, affording Qatar a chance to boost bilateral ties with countries, including Vietnam.
He highlighted the need to intensify bilateral ties across trade and investment and wished that more Vietnamese workers will come to Qatar to work in other fields, including health care, instead of construction at present.
The host hoped that both sides will work in specific areas so Qatar could invest more in Vietnam.
As Qatar will host World Cup 2022, he expressed hope to see the presence of the Vietnamese national football team there. He suggested both sides should work closely together in infrastructure upgrade in preparation for the event.
He also accepted Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s invitation to visit Vietnam in the future.
PHOTO: Tasnim. Parliament Speaker of Iran Ali Larijani (left) and his Lebanese counterpart Nabih Berri (right) discussed a range of issues at a meeting on the sidelines of a binannual meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Qatar, April 7, 2019.
The parliament speakers of Iran and Lebanon stressed the need for concerted efforts by Muslim nations against the US recognition of Jerusalem (al-Quds) as capital of the Israeli regime.
The Iranian speaker condemned US President Donald Trump's decision to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem (al-Quds), calling for “practical measures” by Arab countries in this regard.
For his part, Berri denounced the US plots against Palestine, saying it is a pity that certain Arab states are working against Qatar instead of joining hands against the US and Israel.
Pointing to the absence of four anti-Qatar Arab countries in the IPU conference, the Lebanese speaker said that only words, not practical action, have been heard from those countries over the issue of Palestine.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt had cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism and their regional foe Iran.
PHOTO: News.am. Armenian Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan (center).
On April 7, 2019, Armenian Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan met with President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus, Demetris Syllouris on the sidelines of the 140th summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
During the meeting, Mirzoyan noted the strong ties between the friendly peoples of the two countries. He noted that Cyprus was the first country in Europe which recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide.
In turn, the Armenian parliament adopted a statement condemning the genocide of the Pontic Greeks and Assyrians in the Ottoman Empire.
Mirzoyan noted the importance of ratifying the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Expanded Partnership Agreement as soon as possible. Demetris Syllouris noted that the agreement had been sent to the Cyprus legislature last week, assuring that it would be ratified as soon as possible. He invited Ararat Mirzoyan to visit Cyprus. The invitation has been accepted.
The interlocutors discussed the trilateral format of Armenia-Cyprus-Greece parliamentary cooperation, expressing readiness to make efforts to implement this initiative.
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
