Azerbaijan, Baku, 22 February /corr. Trend I.Alizade / A decision was made to establish Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic-speaking countries. "The representatives of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed a protocol of intentions to establish a Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic-speaking countries," Azerbaijani MP Rafail Jabrailov, who attended the first meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Council of Turkic-speaking countries, reported to Trend by telephone from Antalya on 22 February.
The meeting focused on the Board of the Council, its composition, conditions of membership and other organizational issues. The goal in establishing the Council, which will bring the parliaments of the Turkic-speaking countries together, is to create a central mechanism amongst them as Parliamentary Union, strengthen the relations, coordinate political views, exchange experience, as well as carrying out of the joint projects.
Jabrailov said that the agreement on establishment of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic-speaking countries will be signed at the meeting of the Parliament chairmen in May.
The protocol on intentions was signed by the vice-speakers of the four states. A suggestion was made that the Secretariat of the Assembly should be located in Azerbaijan, but yet, it will be located in Turkey. Discussions are continuing on this issue.
"The chairmanship to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic-speaking countries will be levied on turn basis, for a year. The meeting of the organization will be held in the chairing country. The working language of the Assembly will be the official language of the chairing country," he MP added.
According to him, the number of representatives to the Assembly will be determined depending on the urgency of the discussed issue.
Jabrailov said that the reasons for absence of the representatives of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan at the meeting are unclear. However, the protocol on intentions says that other Turkic-speaking countries may join the establishment of the Parliamentary Assembly after signing the protocol.
"I highly assess the agreement on establishment of the Parliamentary Assembly. It is important from the point of view of acting from a unified position of the Turkic-speaking countries," Jabrailov said.
Azerbaijan was represented at the meeting by the delegation headed by the Vice Speaker of Azerbaijan Parliament, Ziyafet Askerov. The delegation also included MPs Rafail Jabrailov, Ahmed Veliyev, Seyyad Aleskerov.