Istanbul to host 22nd Annual Session of Parliamentary Assembly of OSCEPA

Turkish parliament will host the 22nd Annual Session of Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCEPA) from 29 June to 3 July in Istanbul. 360 parliamentarians from 57 countries will participate the session which will be held at  Lutfi Kirdar Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC). OSCEPA will include a special session titled “Increasing the dialogue and cooperation: Joint message to the world against racism, xenophobia and intolerance” with the participation of Turkish Speaker of Parliament Cemil Cicek, Director of Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormez, Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomeos, Vicar of the Armenian Orthodox Church Aram Atesyan, Chief religious leader of Turkey's Jewish community Isak Haleva and Deputy Assyrian Catholic Patriarch Yusuf Sag.    Cicek will also hold series of meetings with OSCEPA Director Wolfgang Grossruck, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Lenoid Kozhara, OSCE Secretary General Lumbarto Zannier, Montenegro's Speaker of Parliament Ranko Krivokapic, Kazakh Senate Chairman Kairat Mami, Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Viktor Guminsky and Speaker of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Parliament Hasan Bozer on the sidelines of the session. The Parliament of the Principality of Monaco hosted the 21st Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly from 5 to 9 July 2012, under the theme "The OSCE: Region of Change." OSCEPA will be the third largest international conference hosted by the Turkish parliament after Inter-parliamentary Conference in 1996 and NATO parliamentary assemby (NATOPA) in 2002. “Humanitarian Tragedy in Syria” photography exhibition co-organized by the Turkish parliament and the Anadolu Agency (AA) will also be opened at ICEC on June 29, Saturday.