Sen. Francesco Amoruso, Honorary President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), accompanied by PAM Secretary General, Ambassador Sergio Piazzi, addressed fellow parliamentarians on the occasion of the 45th Plenary Session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member Nations, held in St. Petersburg on 24-25 November 2016.
This event represented an opportunity to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the two Assemblies aimed at structuring the excellent cooperation already existing between the two. The document was signed by the IPA CIS President, Ms. Valentina Matviyenko (Speaker of the Federation Council of Russia) and Sen. Amoruso on behalf of the PAM President, Sen. Lhou Lmarbouh of Morocco.
The PAM delegation also held a number of bilateral meetings including with the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), Hon. Maja Gojkovic , Speaker of the parliament of Serbia, the Secretary General of PABSEC Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, and with the IPA CIS Secretary General Mr. Alexey Sergeev.
PAM Secretary General addressed the Permanent Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation. He conveyed a specific request by the CTED of the UN Security Council, expressed on the occasion of a meeting held in New York at the margins of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly. In particular, CTED has requested PAM to mobilise the support of central Asia republics in joining efforts in the implementation of the relevant UN SC Resolutions to counter terrorism and Foreign Terrorist Fighters. All delegates of the IPA CIS political committee welcomed the invitation and agreed to cooperate as well as to contribute to the meeting, which PAM and the UN will jointly organise in Rome on 23-24 March 2017. Furthermore, the Chair of the Committee informed that IPA CIS itself will organise a meeting on the same subject on 28 March at which the outcome of the Rome meeting will be used to launch its own debate.
Sen. Amoruso made his speech at the inauguration ceremony of the Plenary Session. The PAM Hon. President underscored the fact that, although the two regions are geographically distant, they share the same challenges as far as the major current international issues, such as the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, migration, climate change, youth unemployment, are concerned.
Sen. Amoruso referred to the agreement signed between the two Assemblies and said that such synergies come at a time when the need is felt to promote a wider area of economic cooperation among the countries of the Eurasian area and the Mediterranean. “It is also clear that like Europe and the Mediterranean, also Africa must participate in this process, and this is not a choice but a definite requisite”, Sen. Amoruso said.