Respect for commitments crucial to achieve sustainable economic development in Eurasia, says PA President

ANTALYA, 9 October 2018 – Participating in the Third Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments today, OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) voiced the necessity to respect international commitments to support sustainable growth across the OSCE area and beyond.

“Enhanced co-operation on issues such as environmental protection, water management, and cross-border economic projects can be a first step towards building trust and promoting greater stability and security. But this requires constant dialogue, and more importantly, respect for agreed rules and principles,” he said. “In the OSCE area, unfulfilled agreements have failed to prevent continued human suffering, and, in the end, this has made it more difficult to work together in the pursuit of economic success.”

President Tsereteli deplored that the persistence of tensions in the Eurasian region maintained significant disparities between countries: “Conflicts are flaring at every corner of Eurasia. Commitment to OSCE principles and to international law have been set aside in the case of Ukraine, Georgia, and in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. This continues to prevent us from reaching our full potential.”

The OSCE PA President underlined that the size and scope of Eurasia’s challenges necessitate closer collaboration between Eurasian countries and regional and international organizations. He welcomed the conference as an opportunity for parliamentarians to promote the deeper ties necessary to reinforce co-operation throughout Eurasia. Tsereteli also encouraged the parliaments of OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation to maintain their strong engagement with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

“The OSCE PA is ideally placed to help build more bridges between our countries,” said President Tsereteli. “Faced with an erosion of trust between our governments, OSCE parliamentarians have carried on pushing them to live up to their commitments. We have continued to encourage dialogue and the pursuit of multilateral diplomacy in our region.”

The meeting, hosted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, was held under the theme “Economic Cooperation, Environment and Sustainable Development in Eurasia” and brought together the parliamentary leadership of 39 countries.

On the margins of the conference, President Tsereteli held several bilateral meetings, including with Turkish Speaker Binali Yildirim, Slovak Speaker Andrej Danko, Kazakh Speaker Nurlan Nigmatulin, and Uzbek Speaker Nurdinjon Ismoilov. He also exchanged with Belarussian Speaker Vladimir Andreichenko, Kyrgyz Speaker Dastanbek Dzhumabekov, South Korean Speaker Moon Hee-sang and with Heads of Delegation from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Mongolia. Discussions focused on participation in OSCE PA activities, including the recent Autumn Meeting in Bishkek and future statutory meetings, election observation, and pending presidential visits.

Photos from President Tsereteli’s participation are available on Flickr.

For President Tsereteli's full remarks, please click here.