Because of the requests received from some of the esteemed APA Member Parliaments for postponement of APA subcommittee meeting on Globalization in Kabul, APA Secretary-General decided, in coordination with the esteemed parliament of Afghanistan, to postpone the meeting to 12-13 August 2008 so the parliaments who are interested to dispatch their delegations to the meeting can better prepare their travel arrangements.

It is noteworthy that, as announced earlier, the Parliament of Afghanistan has guaranteed provision of the highest level of security to all of the visiting delegates throughout their stay in the country. Hotel room, meals, and local transportation will be generously provided by Afghanistan's Parliament for the participating delegates for the duration of the meeting.

All APA delegations who wish to participate in this meeting are kindly requested to fill out the meeting’s Registration Form and send it to APA Secretariat as soon as possible.

The House of Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will generously host the First Meeting of APA Subcommittee on the "Challenges and Opportunities of Globalization in Asia" from 4-5 August 2008 in Kabul.

The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs of Afghanistan wrote in an official letter to the President of the country’s House of Representatives that all concerned government agencies and authorities of Afghanistan, including its Ministry of Internal Affairs and National Security Agency, declared in separate official letters that they would take all necessary operative measures to ensure the highest level of security for the delegations of APA Member Parliaments who will travel to Afghanistan to attend the meeting.

The Sub-Committee on Asian Integrated Energy Market held its 1st meeting on 15-16 May 2008 in Moscow, the Russian Federation. Delegations composed of APA delegates and energy experts from the following Member Parliaments participated in the meetings of the Sub-Committee: Afghanistan, Bahrain, China, Kuwait, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, the Philippines, Russian Federation, and Saudi Arabia. More>

Wednesday, 16 April 2008 – Dr. Nejad Hosseinian delivered a statement today in the special meeting which APA’s Secretariat organized at the side of the 118th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Cape Town. This event, which was attended by the delegates of several APA Member Parliaments, was an opportunity to exchange the latest news and views regarding the activities of the APA. You can read the statement of APA’s Secretary-General. More>

The State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation will host the meeting of the APA Sub-Committee on Integrated Energy Market in Asia on 15-16 May 2008. More>

The Sub-Committee on the Friendship Pact of Asia held its 1st meeting on 23-24 June 2008 in Manama, the Kingdom of Bahrain. APA Delegations from Bahrain, Bangladesh, Islamic Republic of Iran, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Kuwait, State of Palestine, the Russian Federation, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Syrian Arab Republic participated in this meeting. More>

The Sub-Committee on Alleviating Poverty in Asia held its 1st meeting from 12 to 13 June 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Delegations composed of APA delegates and anti-poverty experts from the following 10 Member Parliaments participated in the meeting of the Sub-Committee: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Lao PDR, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Turkey. More>

The Sub-Committee on Asian Integrated Energy Market held its 1st meeting on 15-16 May 2008 in Moscow, the Russian Federation. Delegations composed of APA delegates and energy experts from the following Member Parliaments participated in the meetings of the Sub-Committee: Afghanistan, Bahrain, China, Kuwait, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, the Philippines, Russian Federation, and Saudi Arabia. More>

Wednesday, 16 April 2008 – Dr. Nejad Hosseinian delivered a statement today in the special meeting which APA’s Secretariat organized at the side of the 118th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Cape Town. This event, which was attended by the delegates of several APA Member Parliaments, was an opportunity to exchange the latest news and views regarding the activities of the APA. You can read the statement of APA’s Secretary-General. More>

The State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation will host the meeting of the APA Sub-Committee on Integrated Energy Market in Asia on 15-16 May 2008. More>

The APA Secretary-General, Dr. Hadi Nejad Hosseinian said: “Through integration of the West Asia and the East Asia, the cost of energy would noticeably be reduced.” In an interview with IRNA on Tuesday, February 12, the APA Secretary-General underlined that in the context of current global rivalry in the field of energy, he estimates that Asia stands to gain a clear competitive edge in final energy cost if east and west Asia work together in an integrated fashion. Huge saving in investment for peak-hour use of energy in each country, considerable reduction in the cost of investment and their risks are among major economic incentives of an Asian integrated energy market scheme.More>

Secretary-General of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly announced the formation of a committee comprising of Asia’s large producing and consuming countries of Asia to study the establishment of an organization for energy cooperation in Asia.

In a press and radio-TV conference which was held at the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of Asian Parliamentary Assembly on 15 January 2008 and attended by Iranian as well as foreign correspondents, Dr. Nejad Hosseinian explained the achievements of the Second Plenary Session of the Assembly and the Secretariat's plans for the realization of the adopted resolutions.More>

The second meeting of the executive council in 2007 and the second session of the APA Plenary were held in Tehran from 17 to 20 November 2007. The Plenary adopted 8 resolutions and decisions with regard to documents and plans of actions prepared by the Secretariat and the executive council. Among other decisions, the Plenary voted for the establishment of a permanent secretariat in Tehran. It further approved Dr. Mohammad Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian as the APA Secretary General for a period of four years. To see the APA's Tehran Declaration 2007 and other resolutions visit here>

The second meeting of the executive council in 2007 and the second session of the APA Plenary were held in Tehran from 17 to 20 November 2007. In his opening statement, Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, encouraged Asian Parliamentarians to prepare grounds for scientific and technological cooperation between Asian countries. He also suggested to the Asian Parlimentarians to consider justice as the core value of all their undertakings in APA.

The APA Secretariat announced today that the APA Joint Conference with Foreign Ministers which was scheduled for 19 November 2007 is postponed and the second session of the Plenary will commence instead on 19 November 2007. “Due to the coincidence scheduling of the APA-Foreign Ministers Joint Conference with some other regional events, and having received a number of proposals from member countries indicating their desire to postpone the Conference” the statement noted “the APA Joint Conference with Foreign Ministers has been postponed.” Although the esteemed foreign ministers who had planned to join the Conference were already informed, the Secretariat has expressed its regret for inconvenience this change has made for members. The statement continued: “all member countries will be informed of the new date and program later on. It should be emphasized therefore, that the APA second session of the Plenary shall commence on November 19, 2007 and there are no change in the program of the executive council.”

The Executive Council
Agenda, Program of Work (updated)

The Second Session of the APA Plenary
Agenda, Program of Work, (updated)

Registration, Accommodation and Travel Information

The working group on Asian Monetary Fund asked the Secretariat in the last meeting of the executive council to study mission, obejectives and framework of a structured mechanism for economic cooperation in Asia. The Secretariat has prepared a working paper on the issue for consideration of the second meeting of the executive council (17-18 November 2007). See the full text of the working paper here>

The Second Annual Plenary of the APA will be held in Tehran from 19 to 21 November 2007. The first day of the Plenary is devoted to a Joint Conference between the APA and the Foreign Ministers of the APA Member States. The Joint Conference will debate the cooperation between the APA and the Executive Branches of the Member States for promoting greater integration in Asia. The rest of the Plenary will discuss the APA vision and its ideal structure.

The Executive Council
Agenda, Program of Work

The APA Joint Conference with Foreign Ministers
Agenda, Program of Work, Suggested Themes of Debate

The Second Session of the APA Plenary
Agenda, Program of Work, Suggested Themes of Debate

Registration and Travel Information

An APA delegation led by His Excellency, Mr. Laksono, the Speaker of the House of Representative of Indonesia and the next President of the APA visited Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg from 3 to 5 October 2007. Exchanging views and discussing ways and means for developing further cooperation were main objectives of the visit. More>