PABSEC Participation in the International Conference “Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals” and the Plenary Session of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, St. Petersburg, 25-26 November 2021

The PABSEC Delegation, composed of Mr. Metin Gundoudu, member of the PABSEC Turkish Delegation, and Mr. Asaf Hajiyev,  PABSEC Secretary General, took part in the International Conference, jointly organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS and the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization, and the Fifty-Third Plenary Session of the IPA CIS, which took place in St. Petersburg, in the Tavricheski Palace, on 25-26 November 2021. These events were opened and chaired by Ms. Valentina Matvienko, Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The events were attended by the heads of parliamentary delegations to the IPA CIS, representatives of the CIS Executive Committee, partner international organizations and the diplomatic corps, heads of executive and legislative bodies of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region and other important guests. At the International Conference “Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals” the Final Document was adopted. The 53rd plenary session adopted the Joint Statement of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Regional Office of the International Organization for Migration in Vienna and the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization “On measures of legislative support to labour migration during the Pandemic”. The plenary session adopted the Model Migration Code for the CIS member states, the Model Election Code for the CIS member states, the Model Labour Code for the CIS member states and 11 model legislative acts in different areas of regulation. Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, addressed the participants in the International Conference and noted the topicality of the measures taken in the field of healthcare, in the context of the Covid-19 Pandemic and especially stressed the importance of the cooperation among the countries and of the exchange of experience and knowledge, to overcome this modern challenge and achieve economic, social and environmental aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals. This problem is topical not only for just one country, or for one region, but for the entire world community, in general. On the sidelines of these events, the PABSEC Secretary General met with Mr. Dmitry Kobitsky. IPA CIS Secretary General, Head of the Secretariat of the IPACIS Council. The current activities of the two assemblies and the possibilities for closer cooperation in the future were discussed. Also, a meeting was held with Mr. Vladimir Bolea, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova on Agriculture and Food Industry, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the IPA CIS on Agrarian Policy, Natural Resources and Ecology. The Secretary General noted that in the agenda of the 2022 PABSEC General Assembly is included the issue of cooperation in the field of agriculture in the Black Sea region. The organization of a joint event on agriculture in Chisinau or Istanbul was also discussed.