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On December 10 the RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan in Moscow took part in the International Parliamentary Forum on the theme “Modern Parliamentarism and the Future of Democracy,” which parliamentarians, state and political figures of numerous countries were attending. During the Forum the RA NA Speaker delivered a speech. Welcoming those present and highlighting the conduct of the Forum, Hovik Abrahamyan highlighted the role of the parliaments in the further development of democracy and the establishment of civil society. In his word, it’s necessary to find more efficient means of cooperation between the society and the power, as the representational democracy should not be the only means of the expression of democracy, which means that democratic elements should be immediately involved in the process of the adoption of decisions in different levels. In his opinion, the national parliaments need closer cooperation with the NGOs in terms of strengthening the ties with the society. “Today the parliaments of our countries in their activity are professional, are more accessible for the society, they possess wider opportunities and means and more representational. And the availability of the internet, information technologies and social networks only supports it, giving the citizens wide opportunities to be actively involved in the public life of our countries,” Hovik Abrahamyan said. “The availability of the multi-party and effective parliament is not only the reflection of the modern political life, but also the response of the social demand of the society.” Continuing his word, the NA Speaker noted: “We highlight the development of the culture of Armenia’s democracy in the NA. Today, the National Assembly of Armenia represents itself a representational multi-party body of legislative power. In the parliament not only the structure of the political field, but also the political interests of the different social groups is reflected. He noted that in the National Assembly a Committee on Ethics had been set up, the presidency of which is based on the principle of rotation. In the NA Speaker’s word, parliamentary hearings are regularly held in the NA of Armenia for the development of parliamentary democracy, which have big public sounding with the participation of the representatives of the NGOs and extra-parliamentary parties, which ensures the participation of the civil society in the process of the adoption of the legislative acts. He emphasized the strengthening of the parliament’s role, which can also promote the further development of the party system as a means of expression of interests. In Hovik Abrahamyan’s word, the Armenian Parliament, being an open tribune, becomes a platform of formation of public consent, which in its turn is the pledge of stability and our people’s further welfare.

During the Forum the Speaker State Duma of Russia Sergey Narishkin, the Speaker of the Fderation Council Valentina Matviyenko, the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Riccardo Migliori, the Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov, the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament N. Stefanovič, the Heads of the factions of the State Duma and others delievered speeches.

Within the framework of the Forum the RA NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan met with the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Riccardo Migliori. The NA Speaker notes that Armenia highly appreciates the close cooperation of the OSCE organizations and highlights the role of the OSCE PA in the process of the development of the inter-parliamentary dialogue. In the word of the Head of the Parliament, Armenia highly emphasizes the support of the organization in the process of the democratic reforms going on in the country. Hovik Abrahamyan highly assessed the implementation of the unbiased Observation Mission by the OSCE PA and the OSCE/ODIHR during the presidential and parliamentary elections in the OSCE member countries and deemed necessary the continuity of cooperation with the OSCE democratic institutes.

The OSCE PA President also highly appreciated the level of partnership between the OSCE PA and the National Assembly of Armenia and highlighted the further development of cooperation. In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the regional problems, issues of the NK conflict settlement and other issues of bilateral interest. The sides underlined that the NK conflict should be settled as a result of peaceful negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.