TEHRAN— The agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly on the rights, benefits and immunities of the Permanent Secretariat of the Assembly of Asia, known as the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, was signed on Sunday by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Majidi, the secretary general of the Assembly, at the Foreign Ministry building.

The agreement was signed after it was approved by the government and the necessary permission was issued to the Foreign Ministry.

The establishment of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) was approved in November 2006 during the seventh meeting of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace in Tehran, hosted by the Iranian parliament, and thus the structure of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace in the Tehran meeting was changed to the Asian Parliamentary Assembly.

According to the resolution of the APA, it was decided from the beginning that the secretariat be based in Tehran.

The Asian Parliamentary Assembly, as a dynamic regional mechanism in the field of inter-parliamentary interaction, has a wide and diverse field of activity, and a significant range of important regional and international issues such as the fight against corruption, justice in the field of health, fight against drug trafficking, strengthening elements of cooperation and friendship among members, reducing poverty, protecting the environment, promoting cultural diversity, combating trafficking in cultural items, the rights of women, youth and the elderly, as well as situations such as the crimes of the occupying regime in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Asian Parliamentary Assembly adopts annual resolutions in order to ensure consistency and regular follow-up of its actions in these areas and other matters of concern to its members.
SA/PA