Kondratiuk to represent Ukraine at World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Vienna

Verkhovna Rada Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk will represent Ukraine at the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, the Ukrainian parliament's press service has reported on Facebook.

According to the report, the second session of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, organized under the auspices of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, will be held in Vienna on September 7-8.

"World Conferences of Speakers of Parliament are held every five years. The official delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, headed by Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk, will take part in the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament for the first time since 2005," the report reads.

Topics of discussion during the plenary meetings of the conference will be the issues of achieving sustainable development and human well-being, environmental protection and the impact of climate change on the economy.

In addition, the challenges and consequences of COVID-19, countering disinformation, gender equality and non-discrimination against women and girls, ensuring the transparency of parliaments and their role in global governance will also be discussed.

The joint declaration of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament is to be adopted following the plenary meetings.

"Our participation in the conference will demonstrate that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as an institution is aware of and shares the need to unite international efforts to address current issues on the global agenda and increase the role of parliaments in resolving crises," Kondratiuk said.

As part of the visit of the Verkhovna Rada deputy speaker to Austria, bilateral working meetings with the leadership of European parliaments are also planned.

According to Kondratiuk, the key purpose of her visit and participation in the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament is to use this platform and a series of bilateral meetings to report on Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine, the occupation of Crimea and parts of Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

"I will be talking about the need to maintain and strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation and counter Nord Stream 2, grant Ukraine without delay a NATO Membership Action Plan, as well as real economic, energy, investment and defense capabilities and guarantees to deter Russian aggression, which is a security challenge to Europe and international law," Kondratiuk said.

She also said that the newly created Crimea Platform with the participation of 46 countries should have an active parliamentary dimension.

"We will actively use all opportunities, measures and connections within the Inter-Parliamentary Union to ensure that Crimea Platforms are established in all parliaments of Europe and the world, which share the values of human rights and the inviolability of basic principles of international law," Kondratiuk said.

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