ASTANA—The Second Central Asian Inter-Parliamentary Forum on Sept. 12-13 in Khiva reaffirmed the countries’ commitment to strengthening inter-parliamentary ties and developing new formats of cooperation to address shared challenges.
Maulen Ashimbayev identified five priority areas for cooperation during the Second Central Asian Inter-Parliamentary Forum, held on Sept. 12-13 in Khiva. Photo credit: Senate
The forum underscored the significance of coordinated parliamentary actions and legislative harmonization in shaping a common regional identity and deepening regional cooperation.
The event brought together parliamentary delegations from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of youth parliaments and Kaha Imnadze, Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General and Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), reported the Senate’s press service on Sept. 18.
The forum’s primary goals were enhancing inter-parliamentary relations and establishing friendship groups, inter-parliamentary commissions, and specialized committees. The event covered important legislative concerns that facilitate water-energy security, diversity of transportation routes, and sustainable growth.
Addressing the meeting participants, Maulen Ashimbayev, chairman of the Senate, the upper house of the Kazakh Parliament, identified five priority areas. They include economic development, implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), human capital development, cooperation at the local representative body level, and digitalization.
Ashimbayev emphasized the need to establish a legal framework to develop a common economic space, expand trade, foster industrial cooperation, and enhance transport and logistics infrastructure.
He also highlighted the crucial role of parliamentary oversight in implementing the SDGs. He mentioned that Kazakhstan has established a parliamentary commission for SDG monitoring, underscoring the importance of coordinated efforts and sharing experiences among the region’s parliaments.
Tanzila Narbayeva, chairwoman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan, called for harmonizing legislation across the region and strengthening cooperation at the local representative body level to enhance oversight over high-level agreements. She emphasized the importance of engaging women and youth in socio-economic processes through specialized platforms, a proposal that gained support among forum participants.
In his address, Kaha Imnadze noted that Central Asian cooperation could be a model for other regions to build good neighborly relations and ensure a sustainable future. He reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Central Asia on transboundary water use, glacier melting, and gender equality.
The Khiva Declaration, adopted at the forum, serves as a foundation for future actions to strengthen inter-parliamentary cooperation. The third Inter-Parliamentary Forum will be held in the Kyrgyz Republic.
As part of the event, Ashimbayev held talks with Tanzila Narbayeva and Nurlanbek Shakiyev, speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament. The meetings underscored the importance of cooperation in industry, transport, trade, and water-energy security in light of the current regional challenges.
The First Inter-Parliamentary Forum, held in February last year in Turkistan, along with the Turkistan Declaration, laid the foundation for the enhancement of inter-parliamentary cooperation.
