Secretary General Mehmet Süreyya Er and Secretary of Commission on Environment, Natural Resources and Health Protection Aynura Abutalibova attended, in the capacity of observer, the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and related meetings took place from 23 to 27 March 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The 148th Assembly brought together parliamentarians from over 140 countries as well as representatives of international organizations.
All IPU statutory bodies, including the Governing Council, Standing Committees, Committees on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and on Middle East Questions, as well as the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and the Forum of Young Parliamentarians, convened on this occasion.
The Assembly was opened by welcoming speeches of the President of IPU Tulia Ackson, Secretary General of IPU Martin Chungong. Heads of TURKPA member parliaments - Chairperson of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova and Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerlan Koshanov delivered speeches during the high-level segment for the speakers of parliament.
The General Debate focused on the overall theme “Parliamentary diplomacy: Building bridges for peace and understanding”. The parliamentarians discussed significant issues related to peace and security in the world.
The Assembly adopted resolutions on the emergency item and on the subject items taken up by the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security entitled “Addressing the social and humanitarian impact of autonomous weapon systems and artificial intelligence” and by the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development entitled “Partnerships for climate action: Promoting access to affordable green energy, and ensuring innovation, responsibility and equity”.
The Assembly concluded with adoption of outcome document of the General Debate. The two youngest MPs at the 148th IPU Assembly - Emma Muteka from Namibia and Akara Tongjaisod from Thailand read the final Assembly declaration.
