MIKTA Speakers’ Consulation 2015(Seoul, July 1-5, 2015)

The MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation 2015 was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea on July 1-5. Initiated by Chung Ui-hwa, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, the MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation 2015 was the inaugural meeting of the parliamentary Speakers of MIKTA, a middle-power consultative mechanism. The Consultation brought together 72 delegates in total: 34 parliamentarians including H.E. Miguel Barbosa Huerta, President of the Senate of the United Mexican States, H.E. Irman Gusman, Chairman of the Regional Representatives Council of the Republic of Indonesia, H.E. Chung Ui-hwa, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, and The Hon. Stephen Parry, President of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Australia, 2 Secretaries General, and 4 ambassadors based in Seoul. The President of the Turkish Grand National Assembly was represented by H.E. Arslan Hakan Okçal, Turkish Ambassador to Seoul, as the Turkish Grand National Assembly elected its Speaker on July 1.

The Speakers engaged in in-depth discussions in Session Ⅰ, Session Ⅱ, and the Special Session of the Host Country under the theme “Parliamentary Leadership for a Global Future.” The Consultation concluded with the adoption of the MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation 2015 Seoul Statement, which contained 9 paragraphs that the delegates had agreed upon.

Through the Seoul Statement, the Speakers reaffirmed the role of the MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation as one of the main platforms to contribute to the development of MIKTA, underlined the need to strengthen cooperation among the Speakers of MIKTA to assist MIKTA in its evolution into a multilateral consultative mechanism among middle powers to address key global challenges by serving as a bridge between superpowers and lesser powers for the peace and prosperity of all mankind, expressed support for the multi-pronged efforts of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and achieve a peaceful unification on the Korean Peninsula, including an inter-Korean parliamentary Speakers’ meeting as well as an inter-Korean parliamentary meeting, and agreed to hold the 2nd Speakers’ Consultation in 2016.

The Consultation was followed by the Joint Press Conference, in which Speaker Chung explained that “the Joint Statement had been drafted based upon the proposals submitted by the parliaments of the MIKTA countries over the past 2 months and the Speakers agreed to adopt the final version of the statement. After Speaker Chung’s statement, the Speakers presented their views in turn with regard to the outcomes of the Consultation. The Joint Press Conference brought all the major proceedings of the Consultation to an end.

* Reference :
–  Seoul Statement MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation 2015
–  NATV “MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation 2015”