Press release – Participation of the GCTP Delegation at the 43rd General Assembly of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA)

20-25 November 2022 Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia

The delegation of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace (GCTP) led by its President H.E. Ahmed Aljarwan, consisted of H.E. Serge Ndong Obame, MP from Gabon, and Prof.Dr. Zoran Ilievski, participated at the 43rd General Assembly of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The participants included high-level dignitaries of the Senate and National Assembly of Cambodia, delegates of AIPA member countries, observer countries, the host’s guests and partner organisations.

Themed “Advancing Together for Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient ASEAN”, the 43rd AIPA General Assembly was presided over Heng Samrin, President of the National Assembly (NA) of Cambodia and Chairman of the 43rd AIPA General Assembly.
The opening ceremony of the General Assembly was held on Nov. 21 with a welcome royal message by His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia.

In the opening ceremony, H.E. Say Chhum, Cambodian President of Senate, delivered a welcome address, while Cambodian Prime Minister H.E. Hun Sen gave a keynote speech, and Cambodian National Assembly President H.E. Heng Samrin delivered the opening remarks.
The General Assembly, consisted of meetings of specialised committees, including Executive Committee Meeting, Plenary Meeting, Meeting of Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (WAIPA), Meeting of Young Parliamentarians of AIPA, Political Committee Meeting, Economic Committee Meeting, Social Affairs Committee Meeting and Organising Committee Meeting.

Joint Statement of the Presidents of the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

The GCTP and IPTP delegation led by H.E. Aljarwan witnessed the Establishment of the CLV Parliamentary Summit, a new form of parliamentary cooperation between the parliaments of Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Vietnam. The GCTP delegation presented their congratulatory remarks to H.E. Yara Sous, an esteemed member of the IPTP, who deserves praise for his efforts and work in the extraordinary success of this historic achievement.

During the second day of the AIPA 43, the GCTP President Aljarwan addressed the participants of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly with a speech, in which he introduced the work of the GCTP and IPTP and highlighted the most important issues of our present times: food security as a prerequisite for peace, preventing violent extremism through education and media, especially targeting youth and climate change as a factor in future world tensions and conflicts. H.E. Aljarwan had the honour to address the Heads of AIPA Member Parliaments which included Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, as well as the Heads of Observer Parliament which included Australia, Belarus, Canada, China, European Parliament, India, Japan, Korea, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Timor-Leste, and Ukraine.

Speech H.E. Ahmed Aljarwan, ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, 21.11.2022

“Honorable Speakers, Excellencies,
On behalf of the parliamentarians from 95 countries around the world that are members of our organization, let me express our gratitude and extend our congratulations for the excellent organization of this impressive gathering to the Kingdom of Cambodia, its Parliament and its people. Among the IPTP members I see Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Thailand parliament and others.
Our international organization the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace core work is promoting the values of tolerance and the culture of peace while fighting against discrimination, racial and religious sectarianism, and extremism of any kind. Our Global Headquarters are in Malta, and we have branch offices in the MENA region, Europe, Africa, and Latin America, and soon in Southeast Asia, thanks to the generous support of the Kingdom of Cambodia and our member of parliament H.E Yara Sou.
The GCTP established the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace, one of the most specialized parliaments dedicated to promoting global peace with a membership of ninety-five parliamentarians worldwide. So far, ten IPTP plenary sessions have taken place all around the world tackling the most important issues of our present times: food security as a prerequisite for peace, preventing violent extremism through education and media, especially targeting youth and climate change as a factor in future world tensions and conflicts.
The IPTP has established strong relations with various United Nations specialized agencies, with the European Parliament, the Arab Parliament, which I was honored to preside as its first president in two terms, the Andean Parliament, the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino), the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and several more.
We feel deeply honored and privileged to be invited at the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and to full heartedly invite parliamentarians from your national parliaments to join our efforts. As our motto says: “together for a better world.”
Thank you, Excellencies, we are looking forward to cooperating with each and every one of your esteemed parliaments and organizations. “
H.E. Aljarwan invited all the Heads of AIPA Member Parliaments and the Heads of Observer Parliament to join the activities of the GCTP and the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace.

Established on Sept. 2, 1977, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly was originally called the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organisation (AIPO), and the title was changed to AIPA in 2006.
AIPA serves as a legislative body of ASEAN member countries who take turn to host this annual event based on alphabetical order of the countries.