Istanbul, April 17 (QNA) - The emergency item submitted by the State of Qatar, represented by the Shura Council, has secured overwhelming approval for inclusion on the agenda of the 152nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), currently underway in Istanbul. The vote marks the first time an emergency item proposed by an Arab country has garnered sufficient support to be formally placed on the Assembly's agenda.

The decision was taken during a session dedicated to voting on proposed emergency items. The Qatari delegation is headed by HE Speaker of the Shura Council Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim, who is participating in the Assembly hosted in Istanbul, Republic of Turkiye. The adopted emergency item, titled "The urgent need for coordinated parliamentary efforts to uphold ceasefire agreements and support the achievement of peace in the Middle East and other regions," focuses on mobilizing international parliamentary action to reinforce ceasefires, advance peaceful pathways, ensure the protection of civilians, and promote sustainable political solutions to ongoing conflicts. It also underscores the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and maintaining the openness of international waterways, particularly amid escalating global crises and their humanitarian repercussions.

On this occasion, HE Al Ghanim described the adoption of the emergency item as a significant success for Qatari parliamentary diplomacy. He said it reflected the effectiveness of Qatar's engagement, in partnership with a number of countries, in advancing more impactful collective approaches to addressing international crises. He added that the timing of the decision highlighted a growing recognition among national parliaments of the need to move beyond declaratory positions toward practical influence, by leveraging parliamentary diplomacy to support ceasefires, enhance their sustainability, and create conducive conditions for the resumption of political processes, thereby contributing to international peace and security.

He further stressed that the achievement demonstrated the importance of joint Arab parliamentary action and its capacity to build broad international consensus across geopolitical groupings, strengthening the voice of parliaments on priority global issues. He also expressed appreciation to the parliaments that voted in favor of the item, noting that such support reflected a genuine international will to pursue peace, reinforce ceasefires, and prioritize diplomatic solutions in order to contain conflicts and alleviate the suffering of affected populations.

The emergency item was submitted by Qatar in cooperation with Australia, Turkiye, France, Brazil, Zambia, Poland, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland, and received wide backing from the Arab Group, the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the African Group. (QNA)