CIS MPs: Interparliamentary Assembly is a Key Component of Commonwealth

On 29 March 2022, the Ceremonial Meeting of the IPA CIS Council, dedicated to the 30^th anniversary of the Assembly took place in Almaty. During the meeting, the speakers of the CIS Parliaments highly appreciated the Assembly’s activities over the past years.

Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko opened the discussion. She recalled that the Agreement on the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly was signed in Almaty on 27 March 1992. She noted that the common history, close cultures and common values of the peoples of the participating countries contributed to the atmosphere of respect and equality in the Assembly, the spirit of partnership and good neighborliness. Valentina Matvienko also stressed that the Assembly’s work had always been aimed not at political rhetoric, but at real benefits for the CIS Member Nations and their citizens.

Furthermore, the Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council informed the meeting participants about the results of the 30-year activity of the IPA CIS in all major fields. One of the most important tasks of the Assembly since its creation was the harmonization of the national legislations. In total, over the past 30 years, more than six hundred model laws, recommendations and other documents have been adopted, most of which are reflected in national legislation. Valentina Matvienko noted the observation of elections and referenda as an important activity of the Assembly. In order to develop this activity, the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD) was established within in the IPA CIS structure of the more than 15 years ago. According to Valentina Matvienko, the established mechanism had become part of the system of international monitoring of electoral processes. Furthermore, Valentina Matvienko focused on the international activities of the organization. Since the beginning of its work, the Assembly has been aimed at developing cooperation with international partners. Now it has more than 50 agreements on cooperation with international parliamentary and other organizations, which provides wide range of opportunities for interaction of CIS MPs with parliamentarians from other countries and international institutions. The IPA CIS has also initiated and co-organized of a number of projects, forums and conferences, including those with international participation. Valentina Matvienko also noted the achievements of the IPA CIS in the field of youth parliamentarism, tourism, humanitarian cooperation and many other areas. In conclusion, the Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council expressed confidence that the Assembly would continue to develop and strengthen its authority in the international parliamentary community and work effectively for the prosperity of the Commonwealth.

Summing up the results of the 30-year activity of the IPA CIS, Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Maulen Ashimbayev noted that over the years the Assembly had become an effective institution of multilateral cooperation in the post-Soviet space and had demonstrated its relevance, effectiveness and prospects.

In her speech, Speaker of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic Sahiba Gafarova noted that that cooperation within the framework of the Assembly had turned into an effective mechanism of partnership of the Commonwealth. She also informed the Council members about the active participation of the members of the Milli Majlis in the activities of the organization and the meetings of the IPA CIS Permanent Commissions, conferences, seminars, roundtables, and expressed hope for the further development of the IPA CIS.

Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Alen Simonyan stressed the increasing role of the Assembly in developing coordinated approaches to solving issues of social policy, respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms and humanitarian cooperation.

Congratulating her colleagues on the 30^th anniversary of the IPA CIS, Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Natalya Kochanova called the anniversary a landmark event in the development of interstate cooperation and parliamentarism.

Speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic Talant Mamytov recalled that the first plenary session of the IPA CIS was held in Bishkek on September 1992 under the chairmanship of Chairperson of the Supreme Council of the Kyrgyz Republic Medetkan Sherimkulov. At that meeting, organizational issues of the Assembly’s activities were defined, including the location of its headquarters. Since then, according to Talant Mamytov, inter-parliamentary cooperation within the framework of the IPA CIS continues to be an effective mechanism of interaction between the CIS countries.

Speaker of the Majlisi Milli of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan Rustami Emomali focused on the international activities of the IPA CIS. He noted that the Assembly’s authority on the international arena had grown steadily, and its relations with other international and regional interparliamentary structures had strengthened.

In her speech, Tanzila Narbaeva said that Uzbekistan attached great importance to maintaining the positive momentum of its participation in the activities of the CIS, while priority attention was paid to promoting parliamentary diplomacy, strengthening bilateral and multilateral dialogue between legislative bodies.

Speaker of the Mejlis of the Milli Gengesh of Turkmenistan Gulshat Mammedova conveyed congratulations from President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov to the Council members and said that the country’s leadership considered the participation of the national delegation in the Ceremonial Meeting as an opportunity to strengthen the international authority of Turkmenistan and establish effective contacts between representatives of parliaments of different countries.

Deputy Speaker of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Pavel Kazantsev, First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Ivan Melnikov, Deputy Chair of the Executive Committee – CIS Executive Secretary Ilkhom Nematov, Head of the CIS Anti-Terrorist Center Evgeniy Sysoev, as well as Director of the National Branch of TRC “Mir” in the Republic of Kazakhstan Alan Azhibayev also spoke at the meeting.

Regional Director for Europe of the World Health Organization Hans Kluge also spoke at the meeting. He presented to the Council members results of the international conference “Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals”, which took place in the Tavricheskiy Palace on 25 November 2021. Dr. Kluge also presented the draft International Treaty on Pandemics.

After the deliberations, the Council members adopted the Statement on the 30^th Anniversary of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Council members also discussed the proposal to declare 2025 in the Commonwealth of Independent States the Year of the 80^th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War – the Year of Peace and Unity in the Fight against Nazism. They were also informed about the results of monitoring of election campaigns that took place in the Commonwealth over the last six months and considered a number of other issues.

The meeting ended with a ceremony: the heads of parliamentary delegations were awarded medals in honor of the 30^th anniversary of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly.