Asaf Hajiyev

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The PABSEC Participation in the Second Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, under the Patronage of the President of the Republic of Turkey, Antalya, 11-13 March 2022

Mr. Cemal Ozturk, PABSEC Vice-President, Head of the PABSEC Turkish Delegation, and Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, participated in the Second Antalya Diplomacy Forum on “Recoding Diplomacy”, which was held at the Nest Congress Centre in Antalya, on 11-13 March 2022, under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Turkey.

At the opening of the Forum, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey, addressed the participants and emphasized the importance of diplomacy, especially in today’s complicated world. In his address, Mr. Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, noted that under the current conditions, international negotiation platforms, such as the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, are particularly important.

The Forum was attended by representatives of 75 states, 17 heads of state and government, 80 ministers, as well as former heads of state and government, representatives of international organisations, high-ranking officials, businessmen, public figures and scientists.

The three-day forum was held in the format of panel discussions and round tables, on such important issues as peace and war, strengthening regional cooperation, global healthcare, the situation in the South Caucasus and other regions of the world, the role of women in consolidating peace, also issues concerning food security, parliamentary diplomacy, youth cooperation, etc.

The PABSEC Vice-President and the PABSEC Secretary General took part in the Round Table on “Parliamentary Diplomacy|”. The PABSEC Vice-President emphasized the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in modern international relations and the parliamentarians’ contribution to balancing foreign policy. He emphasized that states and parliaments should find solutions to topical problems, within the framework of international law.

The PABSEC Secretary General stressed the important role of the Black Sea region in the world politics and the significant role of parliamentary diplomacy in addressing issues regarding political stability and migration. He especially emphasized the importance of the human capital in the Black Sea region and noted that the world is too small, not to feel the consequences of the existing problems. The Secretary General noted the importance of such concepts as memory and thinking and underlined that diplomacy must be built taking into consideration the memories of the past and thinking about the future.

Within the framework of the Forum, Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, Mr. Lazar Comanescu, BSEC Secretary General, and Mr. Faruk Kaymakci, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, as a representative of the government of the host country, signed the renewed Host Country Agreement between the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization and the Government of the Republic of Turkey, for the International Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC).

During the Forum, Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, met with Ms. Irina Vlah, Governor of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, of the Republic of Moldova and informed her about the activities of the PABSEC. The prospect of cooperation with the Parliamentary Assembly and the procedure of getting the “PABSEC Partner” status, were discussed.

On the sidelines of the Forum, the PABSEC Secretary General met with many colleagues from the parliaments of different countries and international parliamentary organizations.

During the Forum, the PABSEC Secretary General gave an interview to local news agencies where he assessed the current geopolitical situation, in terms of parliamentary diplomacy, also emphasizing the important role of the PABSEC.