National Assembly Deputy Speaker and member of the National Assembly delegation to the IPU, Edin Djerlek, met today, on the sidelines of the IPU Global Conference of Women Parliamentarians, with Hamda Hassan Al-Sulaiti, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the State of Qatar and member of the IPU Executive Committee.
Deputy Speaker Djerlek commended the Qatari delegation's performance at the Global Conference panel dedicated to combating online violence, a topic of particular significance for women in politics.
"The National Assembly consists of 37% women, which is above world standards, but I am personally dissatisfied with the influence that women have in society, especially at the local level. The position of women and their representation in leadership positions needs to be improved, and this is why the IPU Global Conference of Women Parliamentarians is important," said Djerlek.
Speaking about bilateral relations between Serbia and Qatar, the Deputy Speaker stated that they need to be strengthened, especially at the level of parliamentary cooperation. The relatively good relations in areas such as the economy, IT sector and agriculture should be improved with the involvement of the two countries’ chambers of commerce, while cooperation in other areas should be raised to a higher level. He especially thanked his Qatari colleague for the assistance in medical equipment that Qatar sent to Serbia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Qatari Parliament’s Deputy Speaker Al-Sulaiti agreed that the two-day conference of IPU women parliamentarians is important for both women and men, because parliamentarians, as the voice of the people, should contribute to the protection of women, especially in the online environment. She briefed the National Assembly Deputy Speaker on the initiatives of her Qatari colleagues in terms of adopting legal solutions related to the protection of women and children from cyber violence and the challenges posed by the growing use of AI in everyday life.
The officials agreed that parliamentary cooperation between Serbia and Qatar should be strengthened through the exchange of experiences of parliamentarians, especially regarding the legislative and control role of parliaments, at the level of foreign affairs committees and parliamentary friendship groups, but also through joint initiatives in international parliamentary organisations such as the IPU.
They concluded that, in light of the current crisis in the Middle East, parliamentary diplomacy should contribute to peace and security.
Photo gallery: © Milos Miskov
