Republican Party of Armenia

On December 8-10 a roundtable “The Best Experience in Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation and the Parliamentary Diplomacy” initiated by the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations and the OSCE Yerevan Office was held in Tsakhkadzor, where the activity of the CIS, OSCE, Euronest, CoE, CSTO and BSEC Inter-Parliamentary Assemblies and the participation of the parliamentary delegations of the National Assembly in them, the role of the parliamentary diplomacy in boosting of Armenia’s foreign policy and the challenges were presented. The members of the Inter-Parliamentary delegations of the National Assembly, experts, representatives of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs, international organizations, as well as NKR NA took part in the discussions.

Highlighting the conduct of the roundtable, the RA NA Vice President Hermine Naghdalyan noted that in the twenty-year parliamentary activity working abroad had been of importance and was gradually more developing: both the NA delegations in the international organizations, the Friendship Groups and Committees gradually became more active and had bigger contribution in the RA foreign political agenda. He welcomed such format, where due to the teamwork of all the international delegations of the parliament the works that were done in different international planes, would be brought together. Hermine Naghdalyan conveyed to the participants of the roundtable the welcoming word of the RA National Assembly President Hovik Abrahamyan, where it said:

“Dear colleagues,

Dear guests,

I welcome the participants of the roundtable,

I highly emphasize the conduct of this event, as it gives good opportunity to compare the activity of the Parliamentary Assemblies, appreciate their roles and outline the works to be done by our national delegations for full cooperation. I am especially glad that the representatives of the influential international organizations with their rich experience attend this event.

It gives opportunity to discuss the problems and processes relating to Armenia and our region in international parliamentary organizations, as well as under the light of the current geopolitical developments the possible perspectives of cooperation.

In the modern world the parliamentary diplomacy is inseparable part of the foreign policy. Big is also the role in the development of inter-state relations, as the expansion of human contacts, the efforts aimed at the elaboration of the united tools of the regulations of the international relations in the region and in the whole world serve as a basis for the establishment of multilateral cooperation. All this, in its turn, is turned into the formation of the atmosphere of mutual trust and strengthening of regional peace and stability.

Dear friends,

The goal of the authorities of the Republic of Armenia is to enlarge and make closer the relations with the international parliamentary organizations. We highlight and highly appreciate that cooperation, and we are ready to more strengthen it. I hope that as a result of the works of this meeting new approaches will be outlined, and that such events will be of continuous nature.

Once again I wish success to your works.”

In his welcoming word to the participants of the roundtable the Head of the OSCE Yerevan Office Andrey Sorokin noted that the role of the parliamentary diplomacy was sometimes underestimated for the benefit of the foreign political agenda of the country, but expressed deep conviction that the representatives of the people had unique mandate, role and ability to have their contribution in the diplomacy.

In the word of the Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Artak Zakaryan, the world experience shows that the parliamentary diplomacy gradually obtain wider opportunities, and just the MPs in many cases are able to support the foreign policy of the state, being part of the problems of the implementation of the general policy. He assured that the NA all delegations were ready to closely work with the foreign department over all problems concerning the international relations.

Every roundtable meeting was dedicated to one of the parliamentary organizations: first the speakers were presenting the structure and characteristic functions of the concrete organization, the participation of the relevant Armenian structures, then the participants were given opportunity to present their views in the phase of discussions.

The Chairman of the RA NA Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Artak Davtyan and the CSTO PA Responsible Secretary Pyotr Ryabukhin presented the passed path of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and today’s programme goals. The RA Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan presented the works done within the CIS and its bodies, and reserved big role to the IPA CIS, noting the available objective realities for it. He stressed the special role of the CIS IPA in the Karabakh conflict during the 1994 ceasefire signing.

The Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, Head of the Armenian Delegation to PACE Davit Harutyunyan presented the priorities of the PACE, and the Head of the Department of Europe of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Narine Nikolyan presented the work being done in the CoE Committee of Ministers and Committee-PA cooperation. Touching upon the classical diplomacy, Davit Harutyunyan has noted that the people’s, economic, cultural and more shaped parliamentary diplomacy develop in parallel to it. He expressed concern that in the influential structure, as the PACE, the lobbyism had penetrated, which made considerably complicated the works being done.

The Head of the RA NA Delegation to Euronest PA Artak Zakaryan, the Counselor of the EU Advisory Group to Armenia Lorenzo Ochoa and the Head of the EU Division of the RA Foreign Ministry Mher Margaryan presented the works being done within the framework of the Euronest PA of the Eastern Partnership framework. In Lorenzo Ochoa’s word, the Armenian Delegation in the Euronest is very often recognized the only delegation, with which it is possible to work over finding compromises. It was noted that the plenary meeting of the Euronest was expected to hold in Armenia in 2014.

The Chairman of the RA NA Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, Head of the Armenian Delegation to NATO PA Koryun Nahapetyan, the Chairman of the Committee on Civil Activity of the NATO PA Security Andrius Avizius and the Head of the National Strategic Researches Institute of the RA Ministry of Defense Hayk Kotanjyan touched upon the RA cooperation with the NATO and the works being done within the NATO PA framework. The participants discussed the role of the NATO PA in terms of the Armenian-Turkish relations and what role can play the RA NA parliamentary delegations in the NATO PA and CSTO PA relationship.

The last item was also lively discussed in the meeting dedicated to the CSTO PA, where the member of the RA NA Delegation to the CSTO PA Khosrov Harutyunyan, the CSTO PA Responsible Secretary Pyotr Ryabukhin, the RA Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan and Hayk Kotanjyan delivered speeches.

The next meeting of the roundtable was dedicated to the OSCE PA, the frameworks of its activity and the peculiarities presented the expert on OSCE Institutions Karel Hofstra, the RA Deputy Foreign Minister Ashot Hovakimyan and the Head of the Department on Armament Control and International Security of the Foreign Ministry Samvel Mkrtchyan.

In all meetings the role of the classical diplomacy was emphasized. The Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs, the Head of the Armenian Delegation to PABSEC Gagik Minasyan, the PABSEC General Secretary Kiril Tretyak introduced the peculiarities and the existing processes of the PABSEC.

Summing up the outcomes of the roundtable the NA Vice President Hermine Naghdalyan noted that during such representational event being organized for the first time an attempt was made to work out a general behaviour, policy, make separation between the executive and legislative bodies in the international arena and bring together the classical and parliamentary diplomacy.