The Fifty-First Plenary Session of the PABSEC General Assembly, Tirana, 20 June 2018
The Fifty-First Plenary Session of the PABSEC General Assembly is being held in Tirana, on 20-21 June 2018, upon the invitation of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania.
The Tirana Session is attended by the parliamentary delegations of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
Mr. Gramoz Ruci, PABSEC President, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Etjen Xhafaj, Deputy Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania and Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, addressed the gathering at the Opening Ceremony. At the Opening Ceremony, there was a presentation concerning the most important current and future projects in the BSEC Region.
The Deputy Secretary General of the Permanent Secretariat of the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS) and the Deputy Secretary General of the Union of Road Transport Associations in the BSEC Region (BSEC-URTA), participated in the plenary session.
The President of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC), the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic-Speaking Countries (TURKPA), the Deputy Secretary General of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) and the representatives of the of the French Parliament, the National Council of the Slovak Republic, the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC), the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (I.A.O.), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia (PAUBR) and the Parliamentary Dimension of the Central European Initiative (PD CEI) took part in the General Assembly, as observers.
The PABSEC Special Representative to the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), also attended the meeting.
The President of the Baltic Assembly (BA), the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Rostov Region and the representatives of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (the Turkic Council) and the World Bank, participated as guests.
During the first day of the Plenary Session, the members of the Assembly approved the Progress Report and the Minutes of its Fiftieth Plenary Session and ratified the credentials of the new members of the Assembly from Azerbaijan and Ukraine. The Assembly took decision to grant the status of the PABSEC Partner to the Legislative Assembly of the Rostov Region. Mr. Petar Kanev, Chairman of the Draft Budget and Auditing Commission presented the Auditing Report for 2017 Financial Year which was adopted by the Assembly.
The Assembly took note on information about the activities of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the Union of Road Transport Associations in the BSEC Region and the representatives of the Parliamentary Assemblies and International Organizations delivered their statements.
During the Plenary Session took place the ceremony of awarding the winners of the Essay Competition, on the topic: “Twenty-five years of Parliamentary Cooperation in the BSEC Region – Views and Perspectives for the Future.”
The Plenary Session discussed “The Parliaments of the BSEC Member States: Common Challenges of the Economic, Environmental, Cultural and Social Development - Reality and Vision”, as the main topic of the General Debate. On the first day, the members of the Assembly debated and adopted the Reports and Recommendations drafted by the PABSEC Committees during their spring meetings: “The prospects of the Development of Digital Economy in the BSEC Member States” and “Strengthening Cooperation in Cybersecurity in the BSEC Member States”.