The President of the Arab Parliament H.E. Adel bin Abdulrahman AlAsoomi, has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with H.E. Mr. Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China (Chairman of the Parliament of the People's Republic of China), during his official visit at the head of a high-level parliamentary delegation to China.
According to a statement by the Arab Parliament, the MoU aims to establish a mechanism for institutional and regular communication between the Arab Parliament and the Chinese Parliament, to advance Arab-Chinese cooperation in various fields and to achieve mutual support for issues of common concern to both sides, as well as prior coordination in various international fora in which the Arab Parliament and the Chinese Parliament participate. Under this mechanism, joint meetings will be held once every two years, alternately between the Republic of China and the Arab States.
This mechanism is chaired by the President of the Arab Parliament and the Chairman of the Chinese Parliament.
During the discussions that preceded the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, AlAsoomi stressed that parliamentarians from the Arab and Chinese sides should have a positive and influential role in advancing the strategic partnership between China and the Arab States which witnessed a quantum leap following the First China- Arab States Summit held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in December 2022.
The President of the Arab Parliament emphasized that China is a strategic friend of Arab States, notably since its foreign policy is based on the principle of respect for States’ sovereignty and non-interference in their internal affairs.
AlAsoomi also praised China's positions in support of Arab issues foremost of which the Palestinian question, as well as its recent support for the accession of three Arab States to BRICS, and its considerable efforts to promote security and stability at the regional and international levels, and commending its sponsorship of the recent Saudi-Iranian agreement in favor of achieving stability in the region.
The President of the Arab Parliament added that the global initiatives adopted by the President of the People's Republic of China (the Global Civilization Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Belt and Road Initiative) all serve the interests of developing countries including Arab countries, and gain respect and credibility by the international community, reiterating the Arab position in support of China’s territorial integrity and the one-China principle.
On his part, the Chairman of the Parliament of China, affirmed that the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Arab Parliament represents the inauguration of a new and important phase of Arab-Chinese relations notably at the parliamentary level, expressing the aspiration of the Chinese Parliament to strengthen communication with the Arab Parliament and exchange experiences on issues related to youth, women, culture and digitization, as well as coordination of common positions and mutual support in various international fora.
Regarding developments in the region, Zhao Leji underlined that China continues its endeavors to eliminate differences and conflicts in the Middle East, reiterating China's condemnation of the crimes of burning copies of the Holy Quran and its refusal to associate terrorism with any religion.
The Chairman of the Parliament of China also addressed the issue of modernization and development, as a legitimate right of all countries and not confined to certain countries, stressing at the same time China's total refusal of reproducing modernization or imposing it from abroad. He also stressed China's support for Arab States in their endeavors towards modernization is sensitive to their specificities and respects their culture.
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