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On September 24-25 , the Working Meeting of Secretaries General of Parliaments of the Eastern Partnership States was held in Tbilisi, where the RA NA Chief of Staff-Secretary General Ara Saghatelyan attended.

Representatives of the parliaments of the Eastern Partnership Member States: Armenia, Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Belarus, as well as the German Bundestag took part in the Meeting.

Issues regarding the expansion of cooperation between the Staffs of the parliaments of the Member States, the exchange of experience, the initiatives aimed at the development of the professional capacities, the enhancement of the parliamentary cooperation on the regional and international platforms were discussed.

The Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze has made opening remarks, noting that the meeting is the best opportunity for the Secretaries General of the parliaments of the Eastern Partnership Member States in terms of exchange of ideas, strengthening of ties and exchange of experience. According to him, it will promote the development of democratic processes. Irakli Kobakhidze has also presented the works underway within the initiative of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and has informed that there is effective cooperation with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation) and the German Bundestag. The Head of the Georgian Parliament also touched upon the initiatives directed to building capacities of the parliament, expressing readiness of effectively cooperating with the parliaments of the friendly countries.

Welcoming the guests, the Secretary General of the Parliament of Georgia Givi Mikanadze expressed confidence that such working format would contribute to the boosting of cooperation between the parliaments of the Member States.

The Deputy Secretary General of the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany Ulrich Scholer has noted that they support the implementation of a number of projects in the countries of the region. He highlighted the political dialogue between the Secretaries General of the Parliaments of the member States, expressing conviction that the meeting in its turn would result in the strengthening of the regional cooperation.

The Head of Development Cooperation South Caucasus, Embassy of Germany to Georgia Daniel Haas elaborated on the public administration reforms being implemented, the processes of harmonization with the national legislations, in this issue also quoting the example of Armenia among a number of Eastern Partnership states.

The RA NA Chief of Staff-Secretary General Ara Saghatelyan also delivered a speech, touching upon the possibilities of long-lasting cooperation of the Staffs of the parliaments of the Eastern Partnership States and the initiatives aimed at building capacities of the Staff of the parliament of our country.

At the end of the meeting a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed which confirms the readiness of the parties to cooperate and create a network of sharing experience. The attendees also made a decision for formats of the next meetings, the venue and the themes under debate.