Key Initiatives of Roundtables Included in Resolution of Forum “St. Petersburg - Parliamentary Capital of Commonwealth”
19 May 2023
The plenary session of the forum “St. Petersburg - the Parliamentary Capital of the Commonwealth”, on the occasion of the 320th anniversary of St. Petersburg, was held in the Tavricheskiy Palace.
Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council Valentina Matvienko addresses the participants.
The forum participants were welcomed by Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Natalya Kochanova. Her appeal was announced by Chair of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus on Legislation and State Building, Deputy Chair of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Legal Issues Sergey Sivets.
Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Martin Chungong sent a video message to the participants of the event. It said that the key topic of the forum – the role of parliamentarism in the context of global transformations - was also on the current agenda of the IPU.
Deputy Secretary General of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States H.E. Ambassador Ali Asghar Mohammadi Sijani expressed confidence that the organization’s relations with the IPA CIS would expand and deepen.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Pankin, Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Alexander Belsky also sent greetings to the forum participants.
Secretary General – Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat Dmitriy Kobitskiy, speaking at the plenary session, noted the increasing role of parliamentary diplomacy and the new opportunities for states in this regard.
The Secretary General noted the growing interest in intensifying joint work with the IPA from such associations of legislators as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States, the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States, the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, Latin American, Central American, Pan-African parliaments.
The results and key points of the roundtables held within the framework of the forum were announced by their moderators.
Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on Issues of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Contacts with Fellow Countryman, member of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation Kazbek Taysaev noted that the parliamentarians agreed that the inter-parliamentary formats operating in the CIS space, especially the IPA CIS, fully justified their effectiveness.
He urged those present to act on a consolidated stance in defence of traditional values and religions at the upcoming Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Morocco in June 2023.
Member of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Vsevolod Belikov stressed that the development of an international dialogue with the participation of St. Petersburg parliamentarians creates new opportunities for realizing the interests of St. Petersburg residents, promoting the principles of St. Petersburg parliamentary work and diplomacy. Deputy Chair of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg Evgeny Kassyura spoke about the initiatives aimed at deepening the integration process and developing St. Petersburg as a platform for international cooperation.
Vice-Rector for International Affairs and Internationalization of Herzen State Pedagogical University, Candidate of Law Dmitry Mereshkin believes that in the context of global transformations, the issues of improving legal and political literacy among young people are becoming more sensitive for states every year and therefore a priority in public policy and international cooperation.
At the end of the plenary session Dmitriy Kobitskiy reported that most of the proposals from the roundtables had been reflected in the final resolution of the forum.
Photo: www.parlament.tj
