Participation of Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, in the 27th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, Aland Islands, 26-28 August 2018

Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, participated in the 27th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) which took place in Mariehamn, Aland Islands, on 26-28 August 2018.

Around 170 parliamentarians, representatives of international organizations, diplomatic corps, scientists, and experts participated in this gathering, hosted by the Parliament of Aland. The aim of this conference was to pass a resolution on cooperation, sustainability and smart energy in the Baltic Sea Region. Mr. Sauli Niinisto, President of the Republic of Finland and Ms. Gun-Mari Lindholm, President of Aland Islands, addressed at the Opening Ceremony. The participants discussed the issues concerning the cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region, focusing on sustainable energy and smart energy distribution platforms, and called for more action for a healthy Baltic Sea.

In his intervention, Mr. Hajiyev underlined the issues concerning the subjects of common interest such as, migration and refugee’ issue, the sustainable development, the transportation and communication. The PABSEC Secretary General stressed the importance of the geographical positions of both the BSEC Region and the Baltic Sea Region, which are situated at the crossroads of major transportation routes from the East to the West (Silk Road) and from the North to the South (Viking Road).

Mr. Hajiyev proposed to organize a joint PABSEC – BSPC seminar in Istanbul, in Spring 2019, in order to improve  the cooperation between the two Assemblies, in the framework of the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in Hamburg, in September 2017.