1. The first Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments (MSEAP) was held on 19-20 April 2016 in Moscow, Russia on the initiative and at the invitation of the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Dr Chung Ui Hwa and Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Sergey Naryshkin with the participation of the heads of supreme legislative bodies of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Belarus, Kingdom of Cambodia, People’s Republic China, Republic of Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Islamic Republic Pakistan, Republic of the Philippines, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Kingdom of Thailand, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and representative of the Lok Sabha of the Republic of India.
2. While discussing the theme of the Meeting: "Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation for Joint Prosperity of Eurasian Countries in the 21st Century," the participants stressed that they shared a common vision of the future of Eurasia as a single space of peace, social justice, cooperation and connectivity, shared values and equal opportunities, human rights and freedoms for everyone, and other aims and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
3. The participants noted the growing importance of Eurasia for world trade and economy and as a pole in the creation of a harmonious world based on the entitlement of every nation to achieve sustainable social and cultural development.
4. Especially highlighted were the importance and interest of Eurasian countries’ legislative bodies in the development of inter-parliamentary dialogues for enhancement of multi-pronged cooperation in political, economic, legal and humanitarian fields, and in environmental protection in accordance with high environmental standards as well as for advocacy of common interests and initiatives of participant countries at international venues.
5. During the Meeting, the participants shared their views on the development of East-West inter-civilizational dialogue, preservation and augmentation of spiritual and cultural traditions of Eurasia, development of interfaith dialogue, and ensuring in view of the obligation of States to promote universal respect for inalienable human rights, freedom and human dignity, combating extremism and preventing the resurgence of any doctrine of racial superiority.
6. The participants strongly condemned international terrorism and pledged to join the efforts to fight this threat to the international commnunity. The participants expressed their condolences and support to the people of Afghanistan and families of victims of the atrocious terrorist attack that happened in Kabul at the date of the Meeting, April 19, 2016.
7. The participants proposed to pay close attention to the legal support and the establishment of legislative base required for economic, social, humanitarian and other opportunities for the development of a cultural dialogue among countries and peoples, and support of humanitarian cooperation promoting the formation of a common Eurasian space without dividing lines.
8. The role of Eurasian countries’ legislative bodies to support of regional and interregional integration projects in the context of establishing a comprehensive partnership with regional organizations based on the principles of equality and mutual interest, and focused on issues of mutual investment protection, trans-border goods flow optimization, updating of technical standards, and facilitation of mutual access to markets of services and capital was stressed.
9. The participants took note of mutually-complementary linkage between regional trade agreements and multilateral trading system, spoke in support of networking of economic integration processes, taking place in the West and the East of Eurasia, and highlighted the need to ensure transparency and openness of negotiations and terms of such agreements for a balanced global trading system.
10. Taking note of the Eurasia Initiative, the Silk Road Economic Belt(“One Belt and One Road”), and other relevant initiatives, which aim at enhancing connectivity in the region, creating new opportunities through innovation and promoting peace and stability in Eurasia, the participants gave considerable attention to the subject of cooperation in the development of Eurasian transport and logistics infrastructure and the need to facilitate the establishment of new transcontinental corridors.
11. The MSEAP participants spoke in favor of providing legislative support to extending cooperation in the areas of energy resources supply, energy efficiency improvements, sharing of scientific data and engineering achievements and nuclear energy including joint participation in projects for the construction of NPPs outside Eurasia.
12. The participants agreed to cooperate in a spirit of partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem, and stressed the roles of parliaments, including its legislative function, as key to preserving and improving the environment for the current and future generations.
13. Space research, and development and application of modern industrial, medical, biological, information and communication technologies were also mentioned as the most promising areas of cooperation, requiring parliamentary monitoring.
14. The participants spoke in favor of increased collaboration in promoting business, humanitarian, cultural, sports and youth exchanges, facilitating traveling of citizens, streamlining migration processes, and developing joint steps for the prevention of and response to illegal migration.
15. The importance of inter-parliamentary interaction among the states of Eurasia for monitoring and promoting the implementation of cooperation projects and programmes, resolutions and agreements reached during the bilateral contacts at various levels, expanding interregional linkages, and upgrading the legal framework of contacts in various fields was emphasized. Also, attention was drawn to the need to establish strong working relationship among the committees and commissions, parliamentary groups, and secretariats of parliaments of Eurasian countries with a view to enhancing sharing of best practices in legislative and parliamentary activities.
16. The participants expressed their appreciation to the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea and the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for their efforts in launching the Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments (MSEAP) and, given the high interest of Eurasian States in the continuation of inter-parliamentary contacts, including in the format of a meeting of speakers of parliaments, agreed to make the Meeting an annual event with the second Meeting to be held in the Republic of Korea in 2017.
17. The Meeting requested the heads of states, governments, parliaments as well as the UN and leading regional organizations to lend full support to the promotion and implementation of the final statement of the MSEAP. |
