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Fatima Latifova

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The 14th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) will be held in Baku from February 21 to 24, Azernews reports, citing Milli Majlis's public relations department.

Dedicated to the topic of "Strengthening regional cooperation for the sake of sustainable development in Asia", a parliamentary delegation of 40 countries, including speakers from 10 countries, will participate in the session.

Within the framework of the event, meetings of the institution's Executive Council, plenary session, political, economic, budget, social, and cultural committees will be held, relevant issues will be discussed, and several organisational issues will be considered.

At the end of the session, the Baku Declaration and the APA's final report will be adopted.

The Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) was incepted in 2006 at the Seventh Session of the Association of Asian Parliamentary for Peace (AAPP). In other words, the APA is the continuation of an organisation that was established in 1999. The APA comprised, in 2007, 41 Member Parliaments and 17 observers. Each member of Parliament has a specific number of seats in the Assembly based on the size of their population. The number of total seats, and therefore, the number of votes, is currently 206. Members of the Assembly must be elected by members of the Member Parliaments. The APA Charter and Tehran Declaration lay out a framework of cooperation among Asian countries and point out a vision; that is Asian integration.

During the year 2009, the application of the India Group of IPU for membership in the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) was considered by the Executive Committee of APA during its session held in Bandung from December 7 to 10, 2010, and India became a member of APA.

In a significant development that underscores the shifting dynamics of Asian geopolitics, Azerbaijan is set to assume the chairmanship of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) by the end of February. This announcement was made by the Secretary General of the APA, Mohammad Reza Majidi, during a press conference held in Baku on February 8, 2024.

The forthcoming transition of the chairmanship from Türkiye to Azerbaijan will coincide with the conclusion of the APA's meeting scheduled for the end of this month. Moreover, established in 2006, the APA serves as a critical forum for parliamentarians across Asia, providing a space for the exchange of views, ideas, and experiences.

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