27/04/2024 President
The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Theodoros Rousopoulos, and the Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, Maulen Ashimbayev, today made the following joint statement on the 20th Anniversary of the signing of the Agreement on Cooperation between PACE and the Parliament of Kazakhstan:
"Today, marking the 20th Anniversary of the signing of the Cooperation Agreement between the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Parliament of Kazakhstan, we reaffirm our strong commitment to the shared values of human rights, democracy and rule of law, which represent the foundation of our institutions.
Over the past two decades, this agreement has served as a cornerstone for enhancing dialogue and fostering mutual understanding between the Council of Europe and Kazakhstan. The agreement also significantly contributed to strengthening the rule of law and democratic consolidation in Kazakhstan. We welcome, in particular, the full abolition of the death penalty in the country.
We underline the importance of parliamentary diplomacy and reiterate our commitment to further strengthening our partnership and developing deeper dialogue between the PACE and Parliament of Kazakhstan.
Acknowledging the significance of advancing the rule of law, we will continue to support the efforts aimed at facilitating Kazakhstan's accession to the Council of Europe conventions, thus integrating Kazakhstan in the common European legal space. We also welcome Kazakhstan’s aspiration to further solidify the measures aimed at combating violence against women by joining the Istanbul Convention in the near future."