Senate deputies met with European parliamentarians
In line with the PACE January session, Senate deputies Rashit Akimov, Sarsenbay Yensegenov and Yerbulat Mukayev held talks with members of the parliamentary delegations from Latvia and Romania, and also attended a meeting of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly, Strategy2050.kz reports referring to the Senate’s press service.
During the meetings, the Kazakh senators noted the importance of developing partnerships with the Council of Europe and the country's intention to work on the qualitative filling of this cooperation.
The European parliamentarians were familiarized with the work carried out by Kazakhstan to accede to a number of European conventions, and plans to open a Council of Europe office in Kazakhstan. The interlocutors were keenly interested in the information about the ongoing political reforms in the country, including the democratization of public administration, the development of a multi-party system and civil society.
Head of the Latvian delegation to PACE, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly Inese Libina-Egnere emphasized the confidential political dialogue between the two countries, on the basis of which close contacts in politics, economy and culture are successfully developing. Deputy Speaker of the Sejm of Latvia supported the closer development of the inter-parliamentary dialogue, including within the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly, and invited Kazakhstani deputies to visit Latvia.
Romanian deputies Y. Boulay, A. Nicolae and V. Badea praised the level of bilateral cooperation between Kazakhstan and Romania, speaking in favor of stepping up efforts to diversify trade and economic cooperation, develop transit and transport potential of both countries and cultural and humanitarian relations, including student exchange. V. Badea, who is responsible in the upper house of the Romanian Parliament for relations with the Romanian diaspora abroad, noted that ethnic Romanians living in Kazakhstan are a living bridge between the two states. At the same time, the uniqueness of Kazakhstan’s model of interethnic harmony and the importance of such an instrument as the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan were noted. At the end of the meeting, the parties spoke in favor of intensifying inter-parliamentary contacts between friendship groups operating in the Parliaments of both countries.
