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Delegation Reports
PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION FROM KYRGYZSTAN:
2-6 JULY 2007
Parliamentary Delegation from the Kyrgyz Republic
2 to 6 July 2007
Delegation
Mr Tayirbek Sarpashev
Leader of the Delegation
Deputy Speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament
Mr Karganbek Samakov
Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs and Inter-parliamentary
Relations of the Kyrgyz Parliament
Mr Rahatbek Irsaliev
Member of the Kyrgyz Parliament
Mr Raimbek Mamyrov
Member of the Kyrgyz Parliament
Mr Zamirbek Esenamanov
Member of the Kyrgyz Parliament
Mr Ashyrbek Temirbaev
Head of Administration of the Kyrgyz Parliament
Mr Nurbek Satvaldiev
Head of Department, International Office of the Kyrgyz Parliament
The delegation led by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Tayirbek Sarpashev, arrived
at Stansted on Sunday 1 July and were met on arrival by His Excellency
Mr Kuban Mambetaliev, Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan and Kenneth Courtenay,
General Secretary of the IPU.
The official programme started on Monday morning with a meeting at the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The meeting was chaired
by Mr Manuel Sager, Board Director for Switzerland, Turkey, Liechtenstein,
Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Serbia and Montenegro.
The delegation thanked EBRD for its assistance and stated that current
reforms underway in Kyrgyzstan would hopefully aid the reduction of corruption
and improve the investment climate. The delegation then returned to Parliament
for a meeting with Mr Speaker who treated them to a tour of Speaker’s
House.
Lunch that day was at Shepherd’s restaurant hosted by the Chair
of the British Group, The Rt Hon Ann Clwyd MP.
Part of the conversation around the table was centred on the fact that
Kyrgyzstan has no women Members of Parliament. The delegation stated that
this would change at the next elections in 2010 and in order to help the
process they undertook to invite women members of the UK Parliament to
visit Bishkek.
The first meeting of the afternoon was with Liam Laurence Smyth, Clerk
of the Overseas Office, who gave a presentation on parliamentary procedures.
The delegation then moved on to a meeting with Mike Gapes MP, Chair of
the Foreign Affairs Committee, and other members of the Committee. After
an explanation on the work of the committee, including details of some
of its recent inquiries, the delegation responded by thanking Mr Gapes
and his colleagues for highlighting the fact that Kyrgyzstan was the only
country in Central Asia not to have a British Embassy. They continued
by stating that although there was a large DfID presence in Kyrgyzstan,
and they had excellent relations with the Ambassador posted in Astana
(Kazakhstan), it was nonetheless vital to have a British Embassy in Bishkek.
Monday’s programme ended with the official welcoming dinner in the
House of Commons hosted by the Treasurer of the British Group, Nigel Evans
MP.
Tuesday morning began with a tour of the Palace of Westminster led by
Robert Goodwill MP. The delegation then met David Kemp, Media Consultant
for the British Group, who gave a briefing on the current relationship
between the media and Parliament and mentioned certain issues such as
the new Freedom of Information Act.
The last meeting of the morning was with the Lord Speaker who explained
to the delegation that the Prime Minister would be making a statement
that afternoon on the ongoing issue of the reform of the House of Lords.
The delegation responded by explaining that Kyrgyzstan was now a uni-cameral
system although there were differences in opinion amongst the delegation
as to whether it should remain so.
Lunch that day was at Lancaster House and co-hosted by John Austin MP
and Michael Davenport, Foreign Office Director for the region.
In the afternoon, the delegation went to Bush House and met the whole
team working on the Central Asian region and were able to record some
interviews.
In the evening, the delegation enjoyed pre-theatre supper at the Imperial
China Restaurant with Lord and Lady Anderson of Swansea before moving
on to watch a very lively performance of Mamma Mia.
Wednesday morning began with a two-hour round-table discussion with members
of the British Group IPU chaired by Jim Cousins MP. The delegation spoke
about the constitutional reform process stating that they were in a process
of ‘evolution not revolution’ and also discussed the great
potential of the energy sector in Kyrgyzstan, stating that only a very
small percentage of this had been harnessed. They also informed our members
of the 145 million tonnes of nuclear waste they had inherited from the
Soviet Union pointing out that with Kyrgyzstan suffering from on average
3000 earthquakes a year this could potentially be a global disaster.
After the discussions, the delegation observed Prime Minister’s
Question Time, the first for the new Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Gordon
Brown MP. This was followed by lunch in the Astor Suite hosted by Tony
Baldry MP.
In the afternoon, the delegation had a meeting with the Department for
International Development chaired by Jim Maund, Head of the Central Asia,
South Caucus and Moldova Team. The Deputy Speaker began the meeting by
thanking DfID for all their assistance and highlighting some of the areas
where these projects were concentrated: management of state finance, health
sector, agriculture procurement, water, HIV/AIDS and the village investment
programme. Dinner that evening was arranged by the Embassy.
On Thursday morning, the delegation flew to Belfast and the one-day programme
began with a comprehensive briefing in Stormont House on the peace process
and the current political situation by John Ball from the Political Directorate
in the Northern Ireland Office.
This was followed by another briefing concentrating on the devolution
process by Deirdre Griffith from the Office of the First and Deputy First
Minister. The delegation moved up to the Parliament Building for a buffet
lunch before making a courtesy call on the Speaker of the Northern Ireland
Assembly, Mr William Hay MLA.
The last meetings in Parliament were first with Stephen Moutray who spoke
to the delegation about his party, the Democratic Unionists, and then
with Micky Brady who briefed the delegation on Sinn Fein.
After a short tour of the Parliament Building at Stormont, the delegation
had a tour of the interface areas of North and East Belfast conducted
by Roberta Rogers, a civilian representative in the Northern Ireland Office.
The delegation returned to Bishkek early on Friday morning.
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