The Speaker of International Parliaments Union (IPU) Saber Choudhary underscored the importance of the role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in its Arab and Islamic spheres, referring to its international leverage that would enable it to contribute to solving a number of pending problems around. This came during a reception held by Dr. Mohammed bin Amin Al-Jeffery, Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council, at his office in Riyadh yesterday for visiting speaker of the IPU. Shoudhary thanked the Kingdom for supporting his nomination to the post during elections held for the presidency of the organization as well as the support of the Shura Council for the union's activities to promote international peace and cooperation. He confirmed that the IPU would never become a platform for some countries to pass their selective agendas or use the organization's meetings to spread sedition among its member states, confirming the role of the parliamentary diplomacy to disseminate dialogue and tolerance among people of the world amid the current accelerating regional and international incidents. Shoudhary said the IPU will focus in the forthcoming period on discussing the issue of terrorism and its danger on the world at large, and threat to the security, culture and society of the world, noting that ending the Palestinian Israeli struggle according to the Arab initiative would have a great impact in lessening world disputes. For his part, Al-Jeffery lauded the role of the IPU in discussing political hot issues, particularly those related to world peace and security and human rights and environment in addition to other economic and social issues of concern to the peoples of the world. During the meeting, Al-Jeffery reviewed the latest situations in the region, noting that the Kingdom and its allies are proceeding with their support for legitimacy in Yemen against the Houthi militias and forces of deposed president Saleh. He said the Kingdom is a peace-loving country with a rich history in support of peace, security and spread of the cultures of dialogue and tolerance, citing a number of initiatives submitted by the Kingdom in this field, notably the GCC initiative to solve the Yemeni crisis and other efforts in the fight against terrorism. He denounced the Iranian interference in the domestic affairs of a number of Arab countries, citing Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria. The two parties also discussed a number of issues of mutual concern and ways of enhancing the communication between the IPU and Shoura Council. The meeting was attended by Dr. Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Amro, Secretary General of the Shoura Council and member of the Shoura and the IPU Saleh bin Eid Al-Hussein who later held a meeting with Shoudhary and discussed with him a number of issues of mutual interest and ways of enhancing bilateral relations between the IPU and Shoura Council in the presence of Huda Al-Haleesi, member of the Shura Council and IPU.
