Qatar has completed all preparations and arrangements for the convening of the 140th Ordinary General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and its related meetings, including the General Assembly and the 204th Session of the Governing Council and the IPU's Standing Committees, to be hosted from April 6 to 10.
The theme of the general debate will be "Parliaments as platforms to enhance education for peace, security and the rule of law", considering the importance of education and its effective role in achieving these goals.
The 139th IPU General Assembly announced at its closing session in Geneva in October last year that it will hold its 140th session and its related meetings in Qatar from 6-10 April 2019.
Qatar's hosting of this global event, which is to be attended by parliamentary delegations from 180 countries around the world, has been widely welcomed at the regional and international levels, given the pioneering and influential role of the country in resolving conflicts, crises, and the welfare and stability of nations and peoples, humanitarian donorship, and the pursuit of dialogue as a way to resolve differences.
The choice of Qatar to host the IPU 140th Ordinary General Assembly and its related meetings, confirms the IPU's confidence in Qatar under the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and the Advisory Council and its ability to organise and host such an important global parliamentary event, in light of the circumstances, and crises experienced by the world, and the need for parliamentarians to play a special role in finding solutions and mitigate the negative effects and repercussions.
In his speech at the session where Qatar was selected session to host this global parliamentary event, HE the Speaker of the Advisory Council Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud welcomed the participants in the Doha meetings of the heads and delegations of the world parliaments, calling on all of them to participate in it and learn about the great developments and achievements witnessed by Qatar under the leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and the goodness and nobility of the loyal people of Qatar and there love for peace, stability and good for all.
He affirmed Qatar's full readiness and confidence in the success of the Doha meetings for the good of countries and peoples.
The intensive contacts and meetings held by HE the Speaker of the Advisory Council with the various parliaments of the world, the President and members of the IPU, its Executive Committee, geopolitical groups and others concerned played a role in choosing Qatar to host the 140th IPU General Assembly.
Since the announcement of the selection of Qatar to host these meetings last October in Geneva, the Advisory Council has continued to work diligently and intensively to prepare these meetings and achieve the desired successes to produce positive results that contribute to supporting and developing joint inter-parliamentary work under exceptional regional and international conditions that require co-ordination, solidarity and uniting positions and visions and work carefully to find the most effective ways to address and overcome them.
The five-day meetings will discuss a range of issues related to IPU activities, as well as important issues and themes relating to international peace and security issues and the role of parliaments as platforms for promoting education for peace, security and the rule of law.
They will also deal with promoting respect for international humanitarian law, a draft resolution on the inadmissibility of the use of mercenaries as a means of undermining peace and human rights violations, and another on the role of fair and free trade and investment in achieving sustainable development goals, in particular with regard to equality Economic, sustainable infrastructure, industrialisation, innovation and the role of parliamentarians in achieving these goals.
The Standing Committees meetings will discuss the themes of "democracy in the era of electronic digitisation", "the role of trade and investment in achieving sustainable development goals", "empowering people, ensuring universality and equality", "global health coverage by 2030", "role of parliaments in securing the right to health ".
The meetings of the General Assembly and the Governing Council will be accompanied by other meetings of the Chairpersons of the Standing Committees and the Secretaries-General of Parliaments, Forum of Young Parliamentarians, Forum of Women Parliamentarians, and the meeting of heads of geopolitical groups, as well as the meeting of counselors with the secretariat of delegations, the Bureau of the Committee on United Nations Affairs, the meeting of the Committee on Human Rights of parliamentarians, the Committee on Peace and International Security, in addition to other meetings to discuss a number of issues on the agenda items of the general assembly, and a workshop on maternal, newborn and child health and other related events.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), HE al-Mahmoud underlined that Qatar's hosting of the IPU meetings would not have been possible without the guidance of His Highness the Amir, adding that the hosting of such event confirms high-status Qatar occupies under the wise leadership of the Amir at the international and regional levels, the world's confidence in it and its ability to organize such large events and in various fields.
The Speaker of the Advisory Council noted that these meetings will be exceptional and successful in all respects, given Qatar's extensive experience in hosting various regional and international conferences, meetings and events.
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