TEHRAN (Iran News) –Majlis Speaker Baqer Qalibaf has described the return of Asia to the economic and political power in the world as the West’s challenge.

Addressing the opening ceremony of a meeting of the permanent budget and planning committee of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly in Tehran on Tuesday, Qalibaf said that the meeting will have a significant impact on the identification of strengths and weaknesses of a campaign to return Asia to its deserved global status.

What we are witnessing today in the form of the rotation of power in the international system, can become a basis for Asia’s call to revise and renew the structure of international bodies such as the United Nations, especially in areas of economy, trade, and the international financial system, he said.

The way forward to achieve this goal and to manage this historical turning point is to institutionalize multilateral cooperation in the framework of regional integration, he stated.

Convergence between different religions of the world is one of the important factors for the survival of humanity and for strengthening peace, security, and tolerance, elsewhere in his remarks, he said.

The interaction between different religions plays a fundamental role in strengthening convergence and mutual cooperation among the nations of the world, he said.

In accordance with international conventions and treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, any kind of religious insult and desecration and any illegal behavior against individuals and groups due to religion are prohibited, he noted.

Referring to a recent move to desecrate the Holy Quran in Sweden, Qalibaf said that the move is in contradiction to the principle of respect for religious values ​, adding that the Islamic Republic of Iran and Islamic countries strongly condemn such actions.

Insulting the holy books, religious sanctities, and the Holy Quran under any pretext by the Swedish government is not acceptable, he said, adding that disguising such actions as freedom of speech will hurt the feelings of more than one billion Muslims living around the world.

Meanwhile on the sidelines of the event Qalibaf met Arab Parliament Speaker as well as Palestinian counterpart. Qalibaf met and talked with Arab Parliament Speaker Adel al-Asoumi  and in the meeting, the Speaker of the Arab Parliament stated that he is visiting Tehran for the first time, expressed his hope that these meetings will be focused on serving the nations and in line with the realization of the interests of the countries.

In this meeting, Qalibaf emphasized the expansion of parliamentary relations between Iran’s Parliament and the member countries of the APA and also the Arab Parliament.

Also, the head of the delegation of the Palestinian National Council met and talked with Iran’s Parliament Speaker.

In this meeting, Baqer Qalibaf and Ali Faisal, the Deputy Chairman of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), stressed the expansion of cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries.

The annual meeting of the Standing Committee on Budget and Planning as well as the Basic Documents Working Group of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) with the participation of 20 countries commenced today on Tuesday morning, hosted by Tehran.