Asaf Hajiyev

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62nd PABSEC General Assembly, Kyiv, 15-17 November 2023

The 62nd PABSEC General Assembly was held in Kyiv in a hybrid format on 15-17 November 2023 upon the invitation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Parliamentary delegations from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, the Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine took part in the work of the General Assembly. The Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS) took part in the work of the General Assembly. Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean (PAM), the Regional Secretariat of the Cooperation Process in South-Eastern Europe also took part in the work of the General Assembly as observers. The Marmara Group Foundation for Strategic and Social Research took part in the work of the General Assembly as a guest.

Mr. Ruslan Stefanchuk, PABSEC President, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, addressed the Opening ceremony. President Vladimir Zelensky addressed the Assembly participants by video message. The message of Mr. Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, Chairman-in-Office of the BSEC, to the participants of the 62nd Plenary Session of the PABSEC General Assembly was voiced by Mr. Fatih Dönmez, Head of the PABSEC Turkish delegation. Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, also addressed the Assembly participants. PABSEC President Mr. Stefanchuk was awarded the PABSEC Medal of Honour in recognition of his contribution to the Assembly.

The meetings of the Bureau and the Standing Committee were canceled, and it was decided to include all the issues that do not require approval by consensus in the agenda of the Plenary Session.

The Assembly approved the Progress Report and the minutes of the Sixty-First Plenary Session and ratified the new credentials of the Assembly members from Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, and Turkey. The Assembly approved the mandate of the PABSEC Special Representative, took decisions on the quorum of Assembly meetings, on increasing the number of PABSEC Vice-Presidents, and on the reorganization of the International Secretariat. The Assembly elected four PABSEC Vice-Presidents - Mr. Petro Koci (Albania), Mr. Ramaz Nikolaishvili (Georgia), Mr. Daniel Constantin (Romania), Mr. Fatih Dönmez (Türkiye) and the PABSEC Secretary General - Mr. Asaf Hajiyev (Azerbaijan). The Assembly also prolonged the term of office of the Secretary of the PABSEC Cultural, Educational and Social Affairs Committee - Ms. Renata Meto (Albania). The Assembly also decided to hold elections within the framework of the 63rd General Assembly for the positions of Deputy Secretary General in charge of Administrative and Financial Matters and Deputy Secretary General in charge of Interparliamentary Relations and Protocol.

The Assembly took note of the information on the activities of the BSEC Organization presented by Ambassador Lazar Comanescu, Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS). Representatives of parliamentary assemblies and international organizations addressed the Plenary Session.

The Heads of delegations made presentations during the General Debate on the topic “Strengthening the Role of Parliaments in Enhancing the Security and Cooperation in the Black Sea Region based on the Principles of Mutual Respect for Territorial Integrity and Sovereignty”.

Within the framework of the Economic, Commercial and Financial Affairs Committee, the Assembly adopted the Report and the Recommendation 192/2023 “Strengthening parliamentary cooperation in the field of disaster prevention and emergency assistance in the BSEC region”, within the framework of the Technological and Environmental Affairs Committee – the Report and the Recommendation 193/2023 “National strategies in the field of artificial intelligence in the BSEC member states”, within the framework of the Legal and Political Affairs Committee - the Report and the Recommendation 194/2023 “30 years of PABSEC: strengthening cooperation in the Black Sea region”, and within the framework of the Cultural, Educational and Social Affairs Committee – the Report and the Recommendation 195/2023 “The role of parliaments in strengthening child protection policies in the BSEC Member States”.

The Assembly approved the Budget for 2024 and confirmed the composition of the Draft Budget and Auditing Commission (Romania, Serbia, Türkiye), which will prepare the draft budget for 2025 and the Auditing Report on the execution of the 2023 Budget.

At the end of the Plenary Session, the PABSEC Presidency passed to the Parliament of the Republic of Albania. Ms. Anna Purtova, Head of the PABSEC Ukrainian delegation, handed over the symbol of the PABSEC Presidency to Mr. Petro Koci, Head of the PABSEC Albanian delegation.