The 26th annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly finished its work in Minsk

Austrian parliamentarian Christine Muttonen was elected to a second term as President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today at the OSCE PA’s Annual Session in Minsk.

The session was attended by the delegation of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, which included Deputy Chair of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Defense and Security Issues Viktor Zavarzin, Deputy Chairman of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation Ivan Korzh, Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Aleksey Sergeev, Deputy Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council – Plenipotentiary Representative of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Viktor Kogut.

The meeting of the IPA CIS delegation with the re-elected OSCE PA President Kristin Muttonen and OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella was held on the margins of the session. Representatives of the IPA CIS congratulated Kristin Muttonen on her reelection and extend congratulatory letter from Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council Valentina Matvienko. The sides discussed further cooperation, including joint events.

Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member Nations and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly have recently been actively developing cooperation, organizations held a joint Parliamentary Conference on Combating International Terrorism in St. Petersburg in March of this year. The general conclusions of the co-chairs of this conference were supported in the Minsk resolution.

Fundamental initiatives that were announced during the Conference in March are reflected in certain decisions. Particularly, all the Heads of National Parliamentary Delegations unanimously agreed to establish an ad hoc committee on countering terrorism during the meeting of the Standing Committee of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly within the framework of Annual Session in Minsk.

The meeting resulted in common understanding of parties on necessity of further cooperation development and particularly in the sphere of combating international terrorism.