UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's role in the global development agenda is going to be very important, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) President Saber Chowdhury told Xinhua Friday in an interview.

Speakers of Parliament from around the world will strive to tackle global challenges to peace and sustainable development when they meet here for the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament next week.

In an interview at the UN headquarters, Chowdhury said China has always been advocating for the developing countries and wanted to have more empowerment for them.

"When China stands by a country in Africa, or stand by a country in Asia, you know they do that because they really want that country to develop. China's role in the whole global agenda is going to be very, very important," he said.

The upcoming speakers' conference is expected to emphasize on achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) expected to be adopted at a UN summit in late September.

As conflicts, terrorism, climate change, gender equality continue to challenge the world, Chowdhury said the conference will examine ways on how to address these issues and "create an environment in which sustainable development can flourish."

On the implementation of development goals, Chowdhury hoped that parliaments of nations can provide political ownership, legislation, policy and appropriation of resources.

"There is nothing legally binding about these sustainable development goals. So unless you have national ownership, you are not going to have any sort of enforcement at the country level," he said.

How to make parliaments "fit for purpose" is a challenge, stressed the president. The SDGs are for the entire world and not just for developing countries.

"The parliaments in these countries are not at the same level of development or evolution. So making parliaments fit for purpose, increasing their capacity is, I think, the biggest challenges we have," he added.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union, established in 1889, is the international organization of Parliaments. The IPU has 166 members and 10 associate members. "They represent 6.5 billion people of the world. The IPU is uniquely positioned to advance this whole agenda of sustainable development," he said.

The IPU brings together the best practice from around the world. "And then each country, based on its own needs and requirements, can determine what is for them or what doesn't work for them," said its president.

Chowdhury, 54, is a prominent Bangladeshi parliamentarian who also has extensive experience in inter-parliamentary relations. He took office in October 2014 as the IPU President.