Meeting of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation took place in the Tavricheskiy Palace

The meeting elected Chairman of the Committee of Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security Mukhtar Erman as the new Chair of the Commission. It also extended the term of office of Deputy Chair Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Committee of the Federation Council on International Affairs, First Deputy Chair of the IPU.

The members of the Commission discussed important political events in the CIS including the chairmanship of the Republic of Tajikistan in the CIS in 2018. Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky presented a report on the current situation in the Syrian Arab Republic and the processes of peaceful settlement of the conflict in the country. The participants also discussed the issue of granting the Asian Parliamentary Assembly the status of an observer at the IPA CIS and the preparation of the international conference on combating terrorism to be held in 2019.

Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus for International Affairs Ivan Korzh informed the participants on the participation of the IPA CIS international observers in the monitoring of the presidential election in the Russian Federation on 18 March 2018.

First Deputy Chair of the IPU, Chairman of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev delivered a report on the activities of the Eurasia Geopolitical Group within the Inter-Parliamentary Union.