Baku discusses status of PABSEC
By Nigar Orujova
The 45th meeting of the Commission on Legal and Political Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation is underway in Baku on May 5.
Commission Chairman, Michael Emelyanov informed all attendees about the agenda of the meeting, noting that the issue of appointment of a new head of the commission will be considered.
During his speech, he insisted on the dynamic development of Azerbaijan.
Speaking at the meeting, Vice-Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament, Valeh Alasgarov said that Azerbaijan is working on a high level with all the countries represented in the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, with the exception of Armenia.
Saying that the projects implemented in the region are the result of cooperation between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, Alasgarov went on to add that Azerbaijan considers equitable and effective cooperation with each country important.
Recalling that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will be commissioned in late 2015, the vice-speaker said that cargo transportations from Beijing to London will become possible with its opening.
“Cooperation within the BSEC has also played its role in these projects. Therefore, Azerbaijan is interested in the development of cooperation within this organization,” said Alasgarov.
The 45th meeting will also discuss the status of the Parliamentary Assembly of PABSEC, Secretary General of the PABSEC Asaf Hajiyev told reporters on May 5.
He said this issue has been discussed for seven or eight years.
“The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation is associated with the PABSEC,” said Hajiyev. “The status of the Parliamentary Assembly needs to be increased. The Parliamentary Assembly does not act as a branch of another structure in any country of the world. Discussions [on the issue], which were held seven or eight years ago, were futile. I believe that this issue will be resolved, although it is not easy.”
PABSEC, which was created in the late 1980's, brings together members of parliaments from the twelve Member States of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation - Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
BSEC was established on June 25, 1992, on the basis of the Istanbul Summit Declaration and the Bosphorus Agreement signed by 11 heads of state. The key objective of the organization is to support multilateral political and economic initiatives in the Black Sea region. The organization comprises 13 countries.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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