The Eighth Session of the EurASec Interparliamentary Assembly met yesterday in St. Petersburg to discuss further economic cooperation, education, and coordinated anti-terrorist activities, particularly in regard to terrorist finance. EurASec is an economic collective security joined by Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The IPA is the legislative arm of EurASec, designed to help the passage of common legal frameworks that meet EurASec aims.
Since Russia had chaired the IPA for the previous two years, a review of that tenure was conducted. Outgoing chair Mr. Boris Gryzlov noted that 39 normative legal acts had been enacted. The new chair for the IPA is Tajikistan's Mr. Makhmadsaid Ubaidulloyev. Rotation is in alphabetical order by state.
Customs Union:
According to Belarus-based news reports, the negotiations for the burgeoning EurASec economic community have stalled on the matter of accession clauses to the treaty. Kazakhstan is particularly interested in crafting this community for its WTO bid. The initial signatories were to be the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. Mr. Nazarbaev has recently reached out to Kyrgyzstan in the hope that they will eventually also join this community.
Parliamentary University:
KazInform reported that the EurASec Parliamentary University is now underway, with the somewhat ominous-sounding name of International Centre for Re-training of Specialists. The idea was first floated and commissioned during last year's May session.
Expanding economic ties with South Asia and the Pacific were also noted.
Map: escapetravel.com
