CSTO Parliamentarians Coordinate Their Positions Before an Inter-Parliamentary Union Session

The 147th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and related events are taking place in Luanda, Republic of Angola, on October 23–27. A coordination meeting of the heads of the CSTO Member States’ IPU parliamentary delegations was held on the margins of the Assembly.

The meeting considered three issues: foreign policy coordination of the parliamentary delegations of the CSTO Member States in the IPU; the implementation of the 2023 CSTO presidency priorities of the Republic of Belarus; and on general Assembly-related issues.

“The objectives of this working meeting are to coordinate joint positions on topical issues of international politics and security, mutual support, consideration of the interests and obligations of the states on cooperation within the CSTO, assistance in ensuring equitable cooperation for the CSTO Member States in the international format of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, elaboration of a common constructive position on certain issues, and if necessary, making collective decisions on pressing issues arising during the meetings of the working bodies of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,” said Sergei Rachkov, Chairman of the Standing Commission of the Council of the Republic of Belarus on International Affairs and National Security and a member of the Coordination Meeting of the Chairpersons of the Committees (Commissions) on Defence and Security of the Parliaments of the CSTO Member States under the CSTO PA Council.

The meeting discussed the agenda of the IPU Assembly and exchanged information on the positions of the countries. A discussion titled “Parliamentary Action for Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions” was also held within the framework of the Assembly. Sergei Rachkov was unanimously elected Chairman of the Eurasia Geopolitical Group, a coordinating body uniting the national delegations of a number of Eurasian countries in the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

“The National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus takes an active part in the activities of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, including as part of the work of the Eurasia Geopolitical Group. We hope for further constructive cooperation within the framework of the Group’s activities in order to uphold the common positions and principles of the member states of the group,” said Sergei Rachkov.

In the framework of the Assembly the parliamentarians also discussed measures to improve the preparedness of parliaments to address the numerous geopolitical, economic and environmental crises facing the world; in particular, they considered a draft resolution on combating trafficking in orphans and the development of appropriate recommendations.

As you may recall, the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly received the status of a permanent observer to the Inter-Parliamentary Union at the meeting of the 117th IPU Assembly in 2007, but it was suspended in 2014. On October 12, 2022, during the 145th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Rwanda, the IPU Governing Council approved the request to restore the observer status of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.