On 10 September 2020, a videoconference took place between PAM Secretary General, Amb. Sergio Piazzi, and Mr. Altynbek Mamaiusupov, Secretary General of TURK PA, the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking Countries.
TURKPA is an international parliamentary organization that brings together the parliaments of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, as a regional collaboration platform involving the countries bound by common historical, civilizational, linguistic and cultural roots.
The introductory meeting served as a steppingstone to identify possible areas of cooperation between the two Assemblies, based on a number of mutual interests, and to expand the scope of interparliamentary cooperation between the respective regions. The initiative comes at the suggestion of PAM President Emeritus Hon. Pedro Roque following a meeting with Amb. Daulet Batrashev, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador in Lisbon.
During the videoconference, the Secretaries General exchanged information about the structures, activities, modus operandi, rules and priorities of the two Assemblies, as well as identified potential areas for future cooperation on issues such as Sustainable Development Goals, trade and investment, support for small and medium sized enterprises, counterterrorism, and climate change, among others.
As practical next steps, the Secretariats will exchange additional documents on the priority areas discussed and begin preliminary coordination on upcoming activities, meanwhile a draft MoU will be prepared in order to formally structure future cooperation, exchange of mutual observer status among the two Assemblies, and pave way for joint activities, in accordance with the internal procedures of the two Assemblies.