MNA � The Speaker of Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani has left Tehran for Istanbul to attend the 11th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA).







The 11th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary�Assembly�(APA), which kicked off on Wednesday in Istanbul, Turkey,�will continue until December 3.

The Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani told reporters at the�airport before leaving to Turkey�that �the summit will discuss various issues and areas of cooperation between the attending countries� potentials in fields such as natural resources and energy.�

Larijani expressed hope that parliaments would increase cooperation between Asian countries.

He went on to add that Asian countries are facing challenges such as terrorism that hinder expansion of relations between them.

He hailed Astana peace talks on Syria as a good example for increasing cooperation among Asian countries in�economic field.

The Parliament speaker further noted that the US actions has encouraged Asian countries to increase economic and political cooperation among themselves.

He added that he would also hold talks with other participants� parliamentary officials on the sidelines of the Istanbul meeting.

Larijani said that�at the end of the Turkish presidency term, the Islamic Republic of Iran will take over the APA presidency next year, expressing hope that Iran�s term would lay the ground for more cooperation between member states.

The 10th meeting of Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) was also held�in Istanbul in November 2017.