Istanbul hosted the 10th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) with the theme of sustaining peace and development in Asia. Dozens of Asian countries are participating in the three days of meetings from Nov. 21 to Nov. 24. On Tuesday, the Second Executive Council meeting opened with a presentation of the APA's activities.
The APA, which appeared as the continuation of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace, was established in 2006 and it has 42 member parliaments and 16 observers. The number of seats allocated to each member parliament is based on the size of a country's population.
During the inaugural ceremony, several Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and the head of the Turkish APA Group, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) lawmaker Burhan Kayatürk, were present.
Dozens of Turkish and foreign media outlets followed the sessions.
"Delegations from APA member parliaments, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates [UAE], took part in the meeting. The parliamentarians will exchange views, ideas, and experiences for developing common strategies for promoting peace in Asia. Earlier Tuesday, the APA's Second Executive Council meeting was held with delegates from each member parliament. The delegates adopted the agenda of the 10th plenary session, and APA Secretary-General Mohammad Reza Majidi addressed the meeting," Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
Turkey was elected APA term president last year in a meeting held in Cambodia. Turkey has taken an active role in the organization, which has recognized the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) as a terrorist organization.
Turkey's active role is considered to be the fruit of its growing interest in Asia and demand to increase both diplomatic and commercial ties with Asian countries.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan frequently emphasizes the need for Turkey to enhance the number of its allies and trade partners around the world.
In addition, Turkey considers Asia free from contagious political matters and problems that are largely seen in the relations with Western countries.
The latest rifts with the EU and the U.S. over the July 15 coup attempt and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in northern Syria have stimulated Turkey to seek new, strong diplomatic ties. Therefore, it has increased its cooperation with Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the APA.