ALMATY, 15 May 2010 -- Under the theme “The OSCE Eurasian Dimension,” the Second Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum, organized jointly by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was successfully concluded on 15 May.

Over 100 parliamentarians from 35 OSCE participating States and Mediterranean partner countries, as well as parliamentarians from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Qatar, participated in the Forum during which the high points were two special sessions with lively discussions on Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Parliamentary representatives from the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Turkic-speaking countries (Turk-PA) also participated.

The agenda of the forum included pressing issues on regional security, including Afghanistan and terrorism, economic concerns such as trade and the environment, and the human dimension – religious tolerance, freedom of the media, human trafficking, and gender equality.

The special session on Kyrgyzstan was called "The Crisis in Kyrgyzstan and Its Implications for Parliamentary Democracy." Among the panelists were Zhanibek Karibzhanov, Special Envoy of the Kazakh OSCE chairmanship on Kyrgyzstan, Adil Akhmetov, OSCE PA Special Envoy on Kyrgyzstan and the Kyrgyz Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Zhanysh Rustenbekov.

The First Trans-Asian Parliamentary Forum was held in June 2003, also in Almaty, under the theme “The Trans-Asian Dimension of the OSCE: A Vital Security Link.”