Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly held in Berlin

Under the theme “Implementing OSCE Commitments: The Role of Parliaments,” the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly met in Berlin for its 27th Annual Session on 7-11 July 2018.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council – Plenipotentiary Representative of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Hayk Chilingaryan. He met with OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella. The parties discussed the preparations for the International Conference on Countering Terrorism, co-organized by IPA CIS, OSCE PA, PA CE, CSTO and PAM in April 2019. Roberto Montella noted that the forthcoming conference aroused great interest among the OSCE PA parliamentarians in general, and especially among the members of the OSCE PA Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism.

Within the framework of the OSCE PA session, Hayk Chilingaryan also met with Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir. She expressed readiness to expand the cooperation. In particular, she proposed holding a presentation of Parliamentary Ethics Standards for IPA CIS parliamentarians, a document that the OSCE / ODIHR is currently updating. She also interested in the draft of IPA CIS Recommendations on the Improvement of the CIS Legislation on the MPs Status and suggested sending their experts to participate in its discussion in October at a meeting of the IPA CIS PC on Practices of State-Building and Local Government.

Mrs. Gísladóttir told about ODIHR activities related to gender equality and confirmed her participation in the II Eurasian Women's Forum. In turn, she invited the IPA CIS to a similar event of the OSCE / ODIHR - the International Forum of Women Leaders, which will be held on November in Minsk.

In addition, on the marginal of the OSCE PA session, Hayk Chilingaryan met with the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean Pedro Roque. The parties agreed to continue cooperation, in particular, in the field of preparation of the forthcoming International Conference on Countering Terrorism.

During the visit, Hayk Chilingaryan took part in laying ceremony at the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park.