Press release issued by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

VIENNA, 11 May 2010 - The following is a press release issued by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The views expressed in this press release do not necessarily reflect those of the OSCE Chairmanship, nor of all OSCE participating States.

Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum to discuss Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan

COPENHAGEN, 11 May 2010 -- Under the theme "The OSCE Eurasian Dimension," the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan are holding the Second Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum in Almaty, on 14-16 May 2010.

Over 100 parliamentarians from 35 OSCE participating States and Mediterranean partner countries, as well as parliamentarians from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Qatar, will participate in the Forum. Parliamentary representatives from the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Turkic-speaking countries (Turk-PA) are also scheduled to participate.

The agenda of the forum includes pressing issues on regional security, including Afghanistan and terrorism, economic concerns such as trade and the environment, and the human dimension - religious tolerance, freedom of the media, human trafficking, and gender equality.

There will also be a special Forum on the crisis in Kyrgyzstan and its implications for parliamentary democracy. The First Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum was held in June 2003, also in Almaty, under the theme "The Trans-Asian Dimension of the OSCE: A Vital Security Link."