OSCE PA President George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) was in The Hague yesterday for meetings aimed at reinforcing bilateral co-operation with the Dutch parliament and joint work between the Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM).
At the Binnenhof, President Tsereteli met with Khadija Arib, President of the House of Representatives, Ankie Broekers-Knol, President of the Senate, and members of the delegation of the Netherlands to the OSCE PA, including Albert van den Bosch, Madeleine van Toorenburg and Achraf Bouali.
Discussions touched on major international issues, including the situation in Ukraine, humanitarian consequences of active and protracted armed conflicts in the OSCE region, and relations with Russia. President Tsereteli also outlined OSCE PA events and activities, such as election observation and the work of the PA’s ad hoc committees on migration and on countering terrorism. He welcomed Dutch initiatives aimed at resolving practical issues between opposing OSCE countries.
“The Netherlands has demonstrated its strong commitment to multilateralism, through continued engagement in organizations such as ours and their hosting of numerous international institutions,” said President Tsereteli. “This engagement is matched by the active work of our colleagues in the Dutch parliament to help us respond together to the many challenges facing the OSCE region.”
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In a visit to the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), President Tsereteli was briefed by Ambassador Lamberto Zannier and HCNM staff on current regional and thematic issues, as well as future projects and events. The visit was also an occasion to discuss ways to concretely increase co-operation between OSCE parliamentarians and the HCNM, through participation in joint visits and events.
In discussions, President Tsereteli voiced strong support for the work of the HCNM. Tsereteli also committed the PA to engage with OSCE parliaments in order to ensure that HCNM recommendations and guidelines are taken into account when developing national legislation, with a view of easing inter-ethnic tensions across the OSCE area.