Arab parliaments convene in Amman today for 29th union conference

AMMAN — The 29th Conference of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (APU) will kick off on Sunday in Amman, under the theme "Jerusalem is the Eternal Capital of the State of Palestine" and with the participation of the heads of 16 Arab parliaments and representatives of other parliaments.

The parliamentary session will see the participation of Syrian People's Assembly Speaker Hammoudeh Sabbagh, who confirmed his participation last month along with a delegation of Syrian lawmakers.

Receiving the Arab parliamentary delegations on Saturday, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh said that the wide participation in the conference shows the trust, stature and prestige that Jordan enjoys among the Arab countries, as the Kingdom has always advocated for the unity of the Arab world, according to a press statement, carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

He added that the APU meets in Amman amidst delicate Arab circumstances and pending issues “that our peoples aspire to solve on the basis of justice and restoration of security and stability to our Arab region”, stressing that achieving such objectives requires scaling up collective Arab efforts and consolidating them with a concrete will to restore the momentum to joint Arab action institutions, of which Arab parliaments represent a key pillar.

He underscored that the conference represents an opportunity to restore the cohesion of Arab parliamentary action and unite their stances in a way that enables coordination and mobilisation in the service of the nation’s central issues, on top of which is the Palestinian cause.

Tarawneh expressed hope that the conference would strengthen Arab parliamentary cooperation to overcome the challenges facing Arab countries, according to Petra.

He pointed out that the theme of the conference entails Arab parliamentary efforts to restore momentum to the Palestinian cause, stressing that Jordan will continue to exert efforts to support the Palestinians.

Tarawneh highlighted that Jordan takes pride in the Hashemite Custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, on behalf of the Arab and Islamic nations, affirming that Jordan will not accept unilateral solutions aimed at changing the legal and historical status quo of the Holy City.