Permanent delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly took part in the 66th NATO PA Annual Session

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Permanent delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly took part in the 66th NATO PA Annual Session

Information Department
Опубліковано 26 листопада 2020, о 13:34

During the 66th NATO PA Annual Session were held meetings of the Committees: on the Civil Dimension of Security; on Economic and Security; on Science and Technology and Political Committee, as well as a special meeting on COVID-19. Permanent delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly led by Head of the delegation MP Yehor Cherniev took part in the 66^th NATO PA Annual Session online.

The 66th Annual Session – the highlight of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s annual cycle of activities – was due to be held in Athens, Greece. In light of the continued spread and unpredictable evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NATO PA Standing Committee decided to hold the Assembly’s annual session online.

From 18 to 23 November, all 269 members of parliament from the 30 NATO members and about 100 members from some 30 partner countries and parliamentary bodies had the opportunity to gather and discuss the key issues affecting the security of the Euro-Atlantic area.

The annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly was opened by President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Attila Mesterhazy, Head of the Greece Parliament's Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Marietta Giannakou and Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a key theme throughout the 2020 Annual Session. Notably, a special meeting was dedicated to COVID-19’s impact, including on citizens’ health and even their way of life, the global economy, and international security.

Despite unprecedented crisis, it is essential that the Assembly continues to address the other critical challenges the transatlantic Alliance faces. Members of parliament tackled the Assembly’s key 2020 priorities:

- the transatlantic relationship;

- NATO adaptation, including with NATO Secretary General’s NATO2030 reflection process;

- Russia’s continuing challenge;

- Middle East and North Africa and the Sahel region;

- the challenges of China’s rise;

- NATO’s partnerships and the ‘Open Door’ policy;

- the science and technology edge in an era of emerging and disruptive technologies;

- women, peace, and international security;

- education and information about NATO.

The following resolutions were adopted as a result of the meetings of the NATO PA committees: “Maintaining the level of defense investment of allied countries after COVID-19”, “Economic sustainability and pandemic”, “Transatlantic strategy towards China”, “Innovations in the defense sphere”, “Implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security”.

NATO PA approved ‘NATO Declaration 2030: A united and strong alliance on the world stage’, reaffirming Allies' commitment to NATO's Open Doors policy as a tool for expanding the zone of stability and spreading democratic standards across Europe, supporting the Euro-Atlantic integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Ukraine and helping to strengthen their resilience to foreign interference.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also delivered a speech. He emphasized that the NATO Parliamentary Assembly played an extremely important role in strengthening the Alliance's unity. Asked by Head of the Permanent delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Yehor Cherniev about NATO's next steps to contain Russia's aggressive actions in the Black Sea region, Jens Stoltenberg said that the Alliance had strengthened cooperation with such important partners as Ukraine and Georgia and informed about the planned meeting at the ministerial level on security issues in the Black Sea region, to which the Foreign Ministers of Ukraine and Georgia were invited.

Also, during the plenary session Chairperson of the US Delegation to the NATO PA, Congressman Gerald Connolly was elected as a President of the NATO PA.