Minsk, May 18. Chairman of the Mazhilis Yerlan Koshanov, at the head of the delegation of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, took part in a meeting of the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly in Minsk.

In his speech, Yerlan Koshanov informed about political reforms in Kazakhstan and the results of the last elections to the Mazhilis. He thanked his colleagues from the parliaments of the participating countries for sending their representatives as part of the monitoring mission of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly to observe the elections.

The speaker of the Mazhilis stressed that the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly has established itself as a significant dialogue platform where topical issues of international and regional politics are discussed, model laws are being developed. Yerlan Koshanov focused the attention of the Council members on the importance of ensuring biological safety in the region.

“As is known, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, put forward an initiative to create an International Agency for Biological Safety within the framework of the UN. Work in this direction is underway. I am sure that our initiative will be supported by the international community, including our partners in the CSTO,” Yerlan Koshanov addressed his colleagues.

The heads of the delegations met with the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.

A number of bilateral meetings also took place during the visit.

At the meeting with the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko, the Speaker of the Mazhilis stressed that inter-parliamentary cooperation is an important component of Kazakh-Belarusian relations.

“The parliamentarians of the two countries should be more actively involved in the implementation of the agreements between the leadership of the two countries. We also intend to strengthen our interaction within the framework of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the CIS IPA, the CSTO Parliamentary Assemblies and the OSCE,” said Yerlan Koshanov.

On the sidelines of the CSTO PA Council, Yerlan Koshanov also had fruitful meetings with the Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Tajikistan Mahmadtoir Zokirzoda and the Speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic Nurlanbek Shakiev.

Press service of the Mazhilis, 74-66-20. Courtesy of Zh. Zhumabekov