Over 200 OSCE Parliamentarians from 50 OSCE countries, representatives of associated states and international organizations participate in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly´s Ninth Fall Meetings taking place Palermo, Italy.
Oleh Bilorus, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Deputy President of the OSCE PA, heads the Ukrainian delegation. Ukrainian delegation includes People´s Deputies O.Peklushenko, L.Biriuk, P.Zhebrivskyi, Yu.Lytvyn, V.Nakonechnyi, O.Stoian and S.Shevchuk.
The participants of the session are expected to deal with economic and infrastructure cooperation in the Mediterranean basin, cultural and environmental cooperation as an expression of the Mediterranean civilization, fighting transnational organized crime and corruption, human trafficking, etc. The program also contains a look at the ten years since the adoption of the Palermo convention signed at the Political Conference in Palermo on December 12-15, 2000.
Discussing the struggle with transnational organized crime and corruption, the participants stressed that it is one of the pressing problems of the modern society that has a negative bearing on all aspects of life, and is fraught with the danger to democratic social processes, national security and implementation of the developmental strategies.
When Kazakhstan chaired the OSCE, special attention was devoted to the anti-corruption actions, esp. international collaboration on counteraction to human trafficking and international organized crime.
Oleh Bilorus delivered a speech at the general discussion of results of the I Session of the Mediterranean Forum on economic and infrastructure cooperation in the Mediterranean basin. He called on the delegates to extend the format of the Mediterranean cooperation, attracting the countries from the Black Sea and the Caspian regions, Ukraine among them. "These states demonstrate a 5-7-per cent growth of the GDP, which, in comparison with the EU member states, is a powerful driving force for the development of global economy and overcoming the global recession," the Ukrainian parliament member declared.
O.Bilorus deems necessary to analyse the causes and consequences of the global recession that still remains a great challenge to the economy of the OSCE countries.
Support of free trade and liberalization of trade relations can help to enhance the post-recessional global economy, the Head of the Standing Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine summed up. He stressed that free trade and international economic cooperation can increase international competitive ability of the national economies.
The Ninth Annual Fall Meeting of the OSCE PA will last till October 12, 2010.