On the initiative of H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and incumbent Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, on the sidelines of the 143rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network (NAM PN) was established during its Inaugural Meeting on November 28, 2021, in Madrid, Spain. The official meeting was followed by a Gala Dinner dedicated to the Inauguration of the NAM PN hosted by the Azerbaijani delegation.

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The Inaugural Meeting was attended by 42 delegations representing the parliaments of the NAM Member States and Observer States, as well as international parliamentary institutions. 16 national delegations were represented at the level of speakers or deputy speakers of their parliaments.

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Ms. Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chair of the Inaugural Meeting, welcomed the participants, and among other issues highlighted the important role the NAM parliamentarians can play in contributing to wider awareness and promotion of the ideas and principles of the Movement and expressed her hope that the newly established Network will provide significant input of parliamentarians in addressing the issues of common concern for the NAM Member States.

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In order to ensure the efficiency of the NAM PN, Ms. Gafarova suggested working out its procedural documents and working modalities. In this regard, the Chair announced that the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan will prepare the initial drafts of those documents and will share them with Member Parliaments for comments and proposals in due course.

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Mr. Duarte Pacheco, President of the IPU, and Mr. Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the IPU, attended and addressed the event. In their addresses, both IPU representatives welcomed the initiative of the establishment of the NAM PN and expressed their readiness for cooperation.

 

Heads of delegations in their statements emphasized the importance of the establishment of the NAM Parliamentary Network at the current international juncture and expressed their commitment to the future development of the Network.

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The Inaugural Meeting adopted the “Madrid Declaration” as its outcome document, which, expressed the unwavering commitment and strict adherence of the Member State parliaments to the values and founding principles of the NAM, highlighted the central role that the Movement has played in mobilizing global efforts in response to COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic, agreed to establish the NAM PN and outlined the major functions that the Network is expected to carry out.

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During the Inaugural Meeting it was agreed for the next meeting of the NAM PN to be held in Baku. This decision has also been mirrored in the “Madrid Declaration”.