SAMARKAND, September 4. /Dunyo IA/. Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Anda Filip, in an exclusive interview with a correspondent of the Dunyo IA, shared her views on the significance of the 12th Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians, being held in Samarkand under the theme “Reclaiming human rights, justice and dignity for all in turbulent times”, as well as on the initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan aimed at strengthening parliamentarism.

- Over several years, we have been developing very close cooperation with the Parliament of Uzbekistan. This is not the first, but the fifth major inter-parliamentary event hosted by Uzbekistan, either in Tashkent or in Samarkand. We are tremendously grateful, and we greatly admire the tremendous progress that the new Uzbekistan has made in a very short period of time.

We welcome the initiatives by the authorities of Uzbekistan to truly empower young people through a variety of initiatives in terms of economic development, education, the use of new technologies, and certainly the engagement of young MPs in public life and politics.

I very much welcomed the address by Mr. President. We welcome his leadership, not just at the national level, but also internationally, in promoting people-centered, effective and compassionate leadership that is truly focused on the needs and expectations of the people.

Also, at the initiative of Mr. President, we very much welcome the initiative by Uzbekistan to introduce a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly on the role of parliaments in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. It was adopted by consensus, and for the IPU, the outcome of the Tashkent Assembly, as well as the UN General Assembly resolution, will provide a very important roadmap for our work ahead.

Young parliamentarians - we love their energy, their commitment and their drive. As it has been said, they are leaders. They should not just wait for their turn to come. They have a huge responsibility as elected members of parliament.

We would encourage them to seize this opportunity and not be shy about playing the very positive role that we know they can play in the work of parliaments. Their energy, fresh ideas and leadership qualities can become an important driving force for the further development of parliaments and society.