Iran-APA Headquarters Agreement signed

Iran and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) on Sunday signed the APA’s Headquarters Agreement, which includes provisions related to the status, privileges and immunities of the permanent secretariat of the assembly in the Islamic Republic as the host state.

According to Tasnim news agency, the Iran-APA Headquarters Agreement was signed by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Secretary-General of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly Mohammad Reza Majidi at a ceremony in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, in Tehran.

The Headquarters Agreement was signed after it was ratified by the Iranian administration and the necessary permissions were granted by the Foreign Ministry.

The Asian Parliamentary Assembly was born in 2006 at the 7th session of the Association of Asian Parliamentary for Peace (AAPP), which was established in 1999.

The APA comprises 44 Member Parliaments and 14 observers. Each Member Parliament has a specific number of votes in the Assembly based on the size of their population. The APA Charter and Tehran Declaration lay out a vision and framework of cooperation among Asian countries, towards an Asian Integration, according to its website.

APA provides a forum to parliamentarians to exchange views, ideas and experiences for developing common strategies for promotion of peace in Asia and the world, foster cooperation and coordination among parliamentarians in Asia for promotion of peace and respect for human rights and humanitarian principles, and provide a forum for parliamentarians and civil society organizations for promotion of peace.

ME