Deputy Senate Chairman partook in European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments
Askar Shakirov, Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Parliament of Kazakhstan, took part in the European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments held under the aegis of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, the Senate press service informs.
The Conference that gathered Presidents of Parliaments of 47 member States of the Council of Europe and observers, as well as international parliamentary assemblies marked the 70 years since the formation of the Council of Europe.
The issues of the establishment and development of the European home, the contribution of the Parliaments to the Sustainable development goals of the United Nations, as well as gender equality were at stake.
Askar Shakirov, during his visit to Strasbourg, held talks with PACE President Lillian Mori Pasquie, where the sides outlined mutual understanding and trust of Kazakhstan with the Organization. The productive cooperation with the Venice Commission as well as the joining of Kazakhstan to GRECO (Group of States against Corruption) were underlined.
The PACE President welcomed the opening of a regional office of the Council of Europe for Central Asia in Nur-Sultan.
Kazakh Deputy Senate Chairman also had talks with Andre Flao, Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Belgium, where the dynamic trade and economic and investment cooperation was noted.
The Belgian parliamentarian informed that new, post-election staff of Belgium’s part of the inter-parliamentary friendship group Kazakhstan-Belgium will be formed in the immediate future. The sides stressed the importance of effective cooperation among legislative bodies in the light of the imminent entry of an agreement on expanded partnership between Kazakhstan and the European Union.
There was also a meeting between Askar Shakirov and Gabriela Cuevas Barron, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union that touched upon the upcoming Parliamentary Conference of the World Trade Organization to take place in 2020 in Nur-Sultan.
The Conference also saw a meeting take place between the Deputy Senate Chairman and OSCE PA President George Tsereteli, the heads of delegations of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Liechtenstein and Sweden, diplomatic missions under the Council of Europe.
The first European Conference of Parliaments of Parliaments took place in 1975. The Conference to takes place alternatively in Strasbourg and a capital of one of the Council of Europe member States every two years.
