Iran’s Speaker Calls for IPU's Active Role against Terrorism
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Speaker of Iran’s Parliament Ali Larijani urged the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to play a more constructive role on major international developments, terrorism in particular.
“The Inter-Parliamentary Union should not be passive about the spread of terrorism and extremism, and about a country’s aggression on a weak state,” Larijani said, referring to an ongoing Saudi-led attack on Yemen, which started on March 26.
He made the remarks in a Tuesday meeting with IPU President Saber Chowdhury in New York.
The Iranian parliament speaker highlighted IPU’s role in the international arena, and urged the reinforcement of the parliamentary body’s capacities in dealing with global issues.
“This Union should play a constructive and active role on significant political, social, economic, and cultural developments in the world,” he added.
Chowdhury, for his part, hailed Iran as a significant country with a rich culture and civilization, saying that Tehran has always had a purposeful and constructive participation in the Union’s activities.
He further urged the Islamic Republic’s parliament to have continued cooperation with the IPU on the resolution of regional crises.
Larijani is in New York to attend the fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, where he delivered a speech on Monday.
In his address to his counterparts earlier, Larijani said the belligerent powers and the aggressive regime of Israel have abused the concept of democracy to commit crimes and invade other countries.
The Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament is being held at United Nations Headquarters in New York and will finish work on Wednesday.
About 180 parliamentary leaders, including more than 35 Deputy Speakers, from nearly 140 countries taking part in the Fourth edition of the conference examine ways to effectively tackle global challenges to peace and democracy.
The Conference is part of the series of high-level meetings leading up to the UN Summit in late September 2015, at which the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be launched.