Speech of Mr. Ramil Hasanov, secretary general of TurkPA at the IV meeting of the CICA council of ministers (12 september 2012, Astana)

Mr. Chairman

Dear participants,

Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude for invitation to attend this important and high-level event, being an opportunity for me to address such an honourable audience.

With your permission, I would like to inform you shortly on the history, activities and latest developments of TURKPA.

The Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking countries (TURKPA) was established on 21 November 2008 upon the Istanbul Agreement signed by the chairmen of parliaments of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey.

Cooperation under TURKPA’s umbrella is based on historical, cultural and linguistic unity of Turkic countries. These countries have commonalities such as developing economies and dynamic population structures that provide solid ground for enhanced cooperation among Turkic states. As they face similar political, economic, and cultural challenges, TURKPA intends to build joint action within the framework of inter-parliamentary activities to overcome challenges concerned.

TURKPA’s established mandate to observe elections in the member countries has contributed to enhanced cooperation of the Assembly with public administrations and efforts to comprehensively monitor the national elections processes in the member countries. The parliamentary and presidential elections held in four member countries since 2010 were monitored by the TURKPA International Observers Mission.

Honourable participants,

In spite of fact that our organization brings together a particular group of countries, it does not take an exclusive approach. On the contrary, TURKPA seeks to establish and develop relations with other national parliaments and international organizations in the region. Moreover, TURKPA gives particular importance to strengthening a common inter-parliamentary platform for dialogue at a global level. As a result, the Assembly was granted an observer status by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the largest international parliamentary institutions. I am honoured to mention the excellent dialogue established between our Assembly and CICA that was enhanced by granting us an observer status. TURKPA is firmly committed to the principles and values of the United Nations and its Charter, as well as other universally recognized principles and norms of international law.

Your Excellencies,

Although the emphasis of the TURKPA’s activities is primarily on economic, social and cultural cooperation, it defines itself as a sub-regional inter-parliamentary organization aiming to contribute to the promotion of security in the region. CICA is the largest multinational forum in Asian part of the Eurasian continent for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in the region concerned. CICA’s twenty years of experience in this field is essential for all sub-regional institutions.

As far as the different formats of our organizations are concerned, I would like to stress that interaction between parliamentary and traditional diplomacy becomes another reality in the framework of multilateral cooperation process. Parliamentary diplomacy is considered as complementing the traditional diplomacy contributing to promotion of political dialogue and exchange of views at the various levels.

With the rise of trans-boundary threats in the continent, new initiatives from Asian states deserve particular attention. We reaffirm that Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking Countries is a forum for regional ownership sharing common objectives pursued by the CICA. I would like to reiterate that our Assembly is ready to make its unique contribution to the achievement of the CICA tasks and objectives. It is worthy to emphasize that all our member countries are also CICA participants and on this basis our organization supports a flexible approach towards establishing a mutually reinforcing relationship with the CICA. Active participation of TURKPA in the CICA activities will pave the way for closer interaction between the two organizations.

Mr. Chairman and respectful participants,

Let me express sincere thanks on behalf of TURKPA for excellent organization of this event and for having a chance to address the meeting. I would like to thank our host, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, for the warm hospitality extended to us and to congratulate Republic of Turkey with successful chairmanship, as well as to express gratitude to the CICA for their cooperation.

Thank you very much for your kind attention