TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani congratulated Syria’s Hadiyeh al-Abbas on her election as the first female parliament speaker of the Arab country.

In a message on Wednesday, Larijani expressed the hope that friendly relations and parliamentary cooperation between Iran and Syria would further extend at various regional and international levels during her tenure.

“I would like to emphasize that Iran’s strategy is to boost close and broad cooperation with the Syrian government and nation in line with efforts to establish stability, peace and security in the region,” the Iranian parliamentarian added.

The People’s Council of the Syrian Arab Republic convened on Monday for its first session after the April 13 parliamentary polls, electing Abbas as its speaker for the first time since 1919.

Hadiyeh al-Abbas, 58, has a PhD in agricultural engineering. Apart from teaching experience, she was also engaged in trade union activity at the National Union of Syrian Students.

The Syrian women got the right to vote and run in parliamentary elections under the Constitution of 1953. In 1973-1977 there were only five female parliamentarians among 186 deputies of the People’s Council. In 2012-2016, their numbers grew to 31 among 250 parliamentarians.

By Tasnim News Agency