Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member Nations and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe concluded Cooperation Agreement

The document which sets out the purposes and principles of the cooperation between the two organizations was signed by Acting Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Sergey Antufiev and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Olga Algayerova.

The IPA CIS and the UNECE have a lasting track record of successful engagement for more than 15 years. Representatives of the UNECE are often involved in the conferences organized by the IPA CIS and meetings of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Economy and Finance. On a handful of occasions, IPA CIS representatives attended events hosted by the UNECE.

During the meeting of Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council and Executive Secretary of the UNECE in 2016 it was decided to promote the cooperation between the organizations and to conclude a respective agreement.

The purpose of this Agreement is to join the efforts of the organizations in creating conditions for efficient partnership in support of sound economic, social, and environmental policies of member states, successful implementation of principles of sustainable development by the Parties by means of political dialogue, exchange of advanced experience, and efforts towards the harmonization of national legislation of CIS Member Nations with respect to the best international practice in the legislative sphere.

The cooperation of the IPA CIS and the UNECE will be carried out in the following forms: IPA CIS use of and access to the results of UNECE work for preparation of norms, guidelines, standards and conventions with respect to issues of transport, environment, trade, innovation and competitiveness, energy, housing and land management, forests, and population in the course of drafting of IPA CIS recommendations for the parliaments of CIS Member Nations; provision and presentation of documents drafted by IPA CIS at relevant UNECE meetings; establishment of joint expert groups to explore issues of mutual interest; encouraging the dialogue of representatives of legislative bodies of CIS Member Nations with representatives of executive authorities and leading experts from other countries of the world; and consultations of representatives of IPA CIS permanent commissions and UNECE departments on matters of mutual interest.

The full text of the Cooperation Agreement between the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe is available in the IPA CIS website.