Speaking at the 12th Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) in Antalya in Turkey, Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani said that the Asian continent has made remarkable progress in the last four decades.

Iran Press/Asia: In this speech, Larijani reiterated: "First, many Asian countries have made successful progress in science and technology, and secondly, in terms of economic growth of Asia, there has been a lot of growth that has been astonishing in some ways, and the remarkable point is that it has sometimes abolished traditional forms in development theories."

"Thirdly, in recent years, Asia has enjoyed a deeper democratic maturity and increased political capacity," he added according to Iran Press.

Iranian parliament speaker added: "Fourthly, today, Asian diplomacy is one of the most dynamic in the international arena. For example, the role played by Russia, Turkey, and Iran in resolving the Syrian crisis, which largely disrupted American-terrorists adventurism."

According to Larijani, these characteristics, of course, have to be added to the cultural power and roots of Asia's very rich civilization.

Ali Larijani continued: "At the same time, however, in recent years, mechanisms have been established at both government and parliamentary levels to make Asian ties and cooperation more effective. Like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Union and so on, each of them has had successes."

"In this way, Asian countries did not stand in front of the West because of their cultural and civilizational background but some Western powers put themselves in front of Asia?" he pointed out.

Pointing to some approaches adopted by Western countries, Larijani said: "Unfortunately, in many cases, we have seen hostile behaviour from the West, such as a trade war with China, Russian sanctions, Iranian sanctions, and adventurism towards these countries, troublemaking in ties with Turkey, blackmailing of some regional countries especially by United States, which doesn't want to see the upgrading of relations between Asian countries. Will the US succeed?"

"These examples show that with all the organized confrontations, Asia will play a leading role in the world's developments, the parliament speaker said.

Elaborating on the US role in the region, Larijani said: "It should not be forgotten that terrorist acts in the region have often occurred with US backing. By creating chaos in Asia, the United States seeks to destroy the energy of these countries. The West seeks to regain control over the oil and other resources as what had happened past century by creating a duplicitous atmosphere of "either you are with us or we will make the turmoil to break the will of the Asian nations."

"On the other hand, hatred of the Zionist regime has grown so large that the United States needs to find other confrontation fields in order to help the regime to prevent Asian countries from supporting the oppressed Palestinian nation," he said.

Larijani added: "All this suggests that Asian countries need to provide more active mechanisms for stronger steps. Establishing Asian business structures, Asian money exchanges, Asian military, and security treaties and Asian scientific and technological cooperation are increasingly needed."

The Iranian official said: "I think based on past experiences, the summit (APA) could prompt governments to pursue more proactive mechanisms in the light of past trends in this area. Also, the General Assembly of the Asian Parliament can also prepare the documents for such cooperation." 101/211/207 

Read more:

APA provides an opportunity for trade and scientific cooperation

Iran, Turkey Parliament Speakers meet in Antalya

Asian Parliamentary Assembly kicks off in Antalya