Mr. Asaf Hajiyev, PABSEC Secretary General, attended the 29^th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, organized by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, at the Birmingham International Conference Centre on 2-6 July 2022. Around 250 parliamentarians, representatives of international parliamentary organizations and experts took part in this event.

The plenary session was addressed by Ms. Margareta Cederfelt, President of the OSCE PA (Sweden), Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons, Mr. John Whittingdale Head of the United Kingdom Delegation to the OSCE PA, and Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South and Central Asia, North Africa, UK, the Commonwealth and the OSCE.  

The Assembly re-elected Ms. Margareta Cederfelt, as President of the OSCE PA (Sweden), and elected Vice-Presidents from Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany. The OSCE PA General Committees elected their leadership for the coming year.

Following several days of discussions and committee work, the Assembly adopted, on 6 July, the Birmingham Declaration containing recommendations for national governments, parliaments and the international community. Participants also discussed the following issues: economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic; migration and displacement; the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan; human trafficking in a globalized economy; cybersecurity and cybercrime; nuclear safety and the prohibition of nuclear weapons; pollution and climate change; independence of civil society; freedom of the media and the countering disinformation.

On the sidelines of the Session, the PABSEC Secretary General met with Ms. Margareta Cederfelt, President of the OSCE PA, and with Mr. George Tsereteli, President Emeritus of the OSCE PA. Mr. Asaf Hajiyev congratulated the President on her re-election and discussed the prospects for the further cooperation between the PABSEC and the OSCE PA, referring to the possibility of holding a joint event in autumn.