Eighth Plenary Session of TURKPA
November 20, 2018 – November 21, 2018
Izmir

The Eighth Plenary Session of TURKPA, hosted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey took place on 20-21 November 2018 in Izmir.

The meeting was attended by Mr. Ogtay Asadov, Chairman of Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Nurlan Nigmatulin, Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Dastanbek Dzhumabekov, Toraga of Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Binali Yıldırım, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and TURKPA Chairman-in-Office, as well as Mr. László Kövér, Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, in capacity of observer in TURKPA and Mr. Hatamzhon Ketmonov, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as a guest.

Also representatives of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (CCTS), TURKSOY, Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Parliamentary Union of OIC member States (PUIC), as well as Union of Turkic World Engineers and Architects, Ahmet Yesevi University and World League of Turkic Youth took part in the Session.

In his opening speech, Mr. Binali Yıldırım expressed his gratitude to his Kyrgyz counterpart for his valuable contribution to the activities of the Assembly during the TURKPA Chairmanship of the Jogorku Kenesh and pleasure for participation of the parliamentary delegations of Hungary and Uzbekistan in the Plenary Session, as well as noted that TUKRPA has made great strides over the past decade and expressed his confidence for further progress in cooperation within TURKPA.

Positively assessing the past decade of the Assembly, Mr. Ogtay Asadov emphasized that each member country has its unique history of parliamentary diplomacy and TURKPA contributed to the strengthening of inter-parliamentary relations through parliamentary diplomacy.

Stressing that TURKPA pursued a path of development over the past ten years, Mr. Nurlan Nigmatulin noted that activities of the Assembly positively affects the enhancement of cooperation among the Turkic-speaking countries and gaining great benefits.

Noting that cooperation among the Turkic-speaking countries is in the interests of all member countries, Mr. Dastanbek Dzhumabekov stressed the significant role of parliamentary diplomacy in development of cooperation among the Turkic-speaking countries.

Speaking about the importance of cooperation with Turkic-speaking countries, Mr. László Kövér noted that Hungary pays particular attention to the friendship and close cooperation with Turkic-speaking countries.

Expressing his pleasure for participation in the Plenary Session as a guest, Mr. Hatamzhon Ketmonov thanked for the invitation and wished the organization success in its future activities.

The agenda of the Eighth Plenary Session included adoption of reports and recommendations of the last meetings of the TURKPA commissions, reports of the TURKPA international observers’ missions on presidential election in Azerbaijan and presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey. Mr. Sadyk Sher-Niyaz was re-elected as the Chairman of the TURKPA Commission on Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Affairs, while Mr. İsmet Uçma and Mr. Recep Şeker were approved as the Chairman of the TURKPA Commission on Legal Affairs and International Relations and Deputy Chairman of the Commission on Environment and Natural Resources, respectively.

It was decided to hold the next Ninth Plenary Session of TURKPA in 2019 in Azerbaijan.

At the end of the meeting, Izmir Declaration - final document of the Eighth Plenary Session was adopted.

Following the Plenary Session a press conference was held during which chairmen of member parliaments positively assessed the results of the Eighth Plenary Session.

Declaration