Participation of Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, in the 24th Winter Meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Vienna, 20-21 February 2025
On 20-21 February 2025, Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General took part in the 24th Winter Meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vienna at the Hofburg Congress Centre. Parliamentary delegations from OSCE countries, representatives of OSCE structures, and representatives of international organizations and parliamentary assemblies participated in the Meeting.
The opening of the Joint Session of the three General Committees was addressed by Mr. Walter Rosenkranz, President of the Austrian National Council, Ms. Pia Kauma, President of the OSCE PA (Finland), and Mr. Feridun Sinirlioglu, OSCE Secretary General. The speech of Ms. Elina Valtonen, OSCE Chairperson and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, was presented by Ambassador Vesa Hakkinen, Permanent Representative of Finland to the OSCE.
The main topic of the general debate was “Priority Challenges to European Security”. During the discussions, parliamentarians from the OSCE countries took the floor.
Separate meetings of the OSCE PA Committee on Political Affairs and Security, the OSCE PA Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions and the OSCE PA Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment were held. As part of the meetings of the general committees, the rapporteurs presented the preliminary draft reports and resolutions to the Assembly members which will be submitted to the annual session of the OSCE PA in Porto (Portugal) in July 2025.
On the sidelines of the event, the PABSEC Secretary General met with Ms. Pia Kauma, President of the OSCE PA, and Mr. Roberto Montella, OSCE PA Secretary General. The issues of further cooperation between the two Assemblies were discussed. The PABSEC Secretary General informed about the upcoming PABSEC General Assembly in Baku in June 2025 and invited the OSCE PA representatives to this event.
Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, took part in the meeting of the OSCE PA Silk Road Support Group, where the prospects for further cooperation within the framework of this project were discussed. In his speech, Mr. Hajiyev proposed to discuss the issue of refugees at one of the future meetings, since this issue is topical not only for the BSEC region, but also for neighbouring regions, and emphasized the need to use the resource of parliamentary diplomacy.
Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, had meeting with Mr. Azay Guliyev, Chairman of the OSCE PA Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment, member of the OSCE PA Azerbaijani delegation, and discussed further cooperation between the PABSEC and the OSCE PA.