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  PHOTO: Russia State Duma. Speaker of the National Assembly of the State of Kuwait Marzouq Ali al-Ghanim (left) visited Russia and met with Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Sergei Neverov on April 23.   The two leaders noted the importance of developing inter-parliamentary contacts between the two countries, as well as strengthening cooperation in the energy and investment spheres.   Deputy Speaker Sergei Neverov said that Russia and Kuwait have a solid foundation of mutually beneficial cooperation and mutual respect. “We are continuing to work together on the progressive development of relations in various fields” including energy, industry, investment, as well as regional interaction. He said the work is aimed at realizing the agreements reached by the heads of the two states.   Deputy Speaker Neverov also noted the similarity of the positions of the Russian Federation and Kuwait on global and Middle Eastern issues. “We are greatful to the Kuwaiti side for supporting the Russian Federation on various international platforms”, said Sergei Neverov.   The parties discussed the countering of the terrorist threat in the region and the Syrian issue, which they believed should be resolved exclusively by diplomatic means. They noted the importance of joint work of Russia and Kuwait in this matter, as well as creating conditions for the early return of Syrian refuges to their native land.   In addition, the two Speakers discussed the situation around Qatar. “We actively support the intermediary services of Kuwait in resolving the crisis around Qatar”, said Neverov and added that disagreements between the countries of the region should be resolved at the negotiating table with mutual consideration of the interests of all participants.   Deputy Speaker Neverov reminded that recently Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin visited Qatar and participated in the events of the 140th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, and also held a meeting with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. “We attach great importance to the activities of [IPU]”, and said that unlike many other international structures the IPU has a constructive atmosphere and considers interference in the affairs of sovereign states and sanctions against parliamentarians unacceptable.         PHOTO: RFE/RL, AFP. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan (right) visited Iran and met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (left) on April 22.   Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan agreed to set up a joint border “reaction force” to counter terrorism.   PM Khan said at the joint press conference that “Pakistan will not allow any militant group to operate” from its soil, adding that a problem of tackling terrorism was in “increasing differences” between both countries. “So it was very important for me to come here with our security chief that we resolve this issue”, PM Khan said.   It was announced that Pakistan’s security chief will be meeting with his Iranian counterpart to discuss how both countries can cooperate in not allowing their soil to be used by military groups.   During the joint conference, Iranian President Rouhani stressed that “no third country” could harm Iran-Pakistan ties, and said that Tehran was ready to boost trade and business ties with Islamabad.   PM Khan also echoed this sentiment, saying that his visit to Tehran aimed to “find ways to increase trade and cooperation in energy and other areas”.   The announcement comes following tensions between the two countries who have in recent months accused each other of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly sheltering across the border.   The visit comes a day after Pakistan asked Iran to take action against terrorist groups believed to be behind the militant attack in Baluchistan on April 18 which killed 14 Pakistani security forces. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a letter to the Iranian government that the assailants came from an alliance of three Baluch terrorist organizations based in Iran.   Earlier this year, Iran called on Pakistan to take action against a militant group behind a deadly attack on the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). 27 IRGC members were killed in the February suicide car bombing near the border with Pakistan, and the extremist group Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for the attack.         PHOTO: Mukhtar Kholdorbekov/Reuters. Kazakh interim President Qasym-Zhomamrt Toqaev (left) and former President Nursultan Nazarbayev shake hands at the congress of the ruling Nur Otan ruling party in Nur-Sultan (formerly known as Astana) on April 23.   Kazakhstan’s ruling Nur Otan party has nominated interim President Qasym-Zhomart Toquaev for the presidency, virtually assuring his victory in a snap election scheduled for June 9.   The announcement was made at party congress on April 23, weeks after Nursultan Nazarbaev abruptly resigned as president after 30 years in power. “I propose Toqaev’s candidacy for consideration,” said Nazarbaev, who remains chairman of Nur Otan as well as the country’s Security Council. “I ask everyone to support his candidacy.”   The party voted unanimously in favor of his proposal. The vote came after a special congress chose the candidate after the agenda for the meeting of the highest governing body of Nur Otan was approved on April 22 by its Political Council.   Nazarbaev announced his resignation on March 19, and Toqaev, a longtime diplomat who was speaker of the upper house of parliament became interim president.   On April 9, Toqaev announced a snap presidential election for June 9, moving the vote forward by almost a year. The snap election appears aimed at shortening the political transition period and decreasing the chances of instability following Nazarbaev's resignation.   If Toqaev becomes president in June 9, he will serve a 5-year term that is renewable by one term according to Item 5, Article 42 of the Constitution.   BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)

  PHOTO: BFA. LI Keqiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, delivered a keynote speech at the Opening Plenary of the BFA Annual Conference 2019   Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed the very first Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Manila on Monday night describing it as reflective of support for enhanced relations between the Philippines and China as well as East regional cooperation.   Duterte failed to attend the forum as he was “not feeling well” but Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea read the President’s speech for him, thanking former Presidents Fidel Ramos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now House Speaker, for taking the initiative to bring the conference to Manila.   “The decision to hold this conference here in Manila is indeed a welcome development as it reflects the international community’s growing support for and confidence in Philippines-China relations and East Asian regional cooperation,” Duterte said in his speech read by Medialdea at Shangri-La, The Fort, Taguig City.   “I am pleased that through the efforts of my predecessors — President Ramos being a founding father and President Arroyo currently serving as a member of its board — the Boao Forum has become instrumental in charting the course of the Philippine economy in this era of globalization and regional integration,” he added.   Duterte expressed hope that the holding of the Boao Forum will forge stronger consensus as the Philippines prepares to further strengthen regional cooperation through China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). “The Philippines is hopeful that as we bring the BFA in Manila we can further build on previous discussions with our partners who we may forge deeper consensus as we strengthen regional cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative…The BFA has become instrumental in charting the course of the Philippine economy in this era of globalization and regional integration,” Medialdea said. The President is set to join other heads of states in Beijing for the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on April 25 this year.     PHOTO: IEMed Mediterranean Yearbook. A maritime map of the eastern Mediterranean showing Exclusive Economic Zone borders, including an area of dispute (marked 4) between Israel and Lebanon.   On April 23, the Speaker of Lebanon’s parliament said that Beirut is prepared to demarcate its maritime border with Israel, a move that could resolve an ongoing oil and gas dispute between the two neighboring countries, which are still technically at war.   Speaker of the parliament Nabih Berri told the head of the UN peacekeeping force deployed to southern Lebanon that “we are ready to draw Lebanon’s maritime borders and those of the Exclusive Economic Zone using the same procedure that was used to draw the Blue Line under the supervision of the United Nations,” according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.   The Blue Line is the land border between Israel and Lebanon as drawn by the UN after Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. Beirut disputes part of the border, and claims an area known in Israel as Mount Dov and in Lebanon as the Shebaa Farms.   During Tuesday’s meeting, Major Stefano Del Col expressed optimism that the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) could help resolve the dispute over ownership of a roughly 860 square kilometer (332 square mile) triangular patch of the Mediterranean Sea.   The triangle meets at Rosh Hanikra on the Israeli-Lebanese border, and fans out into Cypriot economic waters. Recently discovered oil and gas reserves in that area of the Mediterranean are predicted to generate up to $600 billion over the next few decades.   The long-standing dispute resurfaced last year, when Lebanon signed a deal with an international consortium to start exploratory offshore drilling in 2019.   In response, the Knesset advanced the Maritime Areas Bill, legislation that would formalize the maritime border between the two countries, and that gave Israel rights to a potentially lucrative patch of sea.       PHOTO: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images. An Iranian laborer works on the platform of the oil facility on Kharg Island off the coast of Iran.   On April 22, 2019, the United States announced it will not reissue Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs) when they expire in early May.   India, China, Turkey, Greece, Italy, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan have been given 6-month reprieves from the unilateral US sanctions on Iran and will be affected by this decision. Greece, Italy, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan have already substantially reduced their purchases from Iran.   “The decision is intended to bring Iran’s oil exports to zero, denying the regime its principal source of revenue,” the White House said in a statement. “The Trump administration and our allies are determined to sustain and expand the maximum economic pressure campaign against Iran to end the regime’s destabilizing activity threatening the United States, our partners and allies and security in the Middle East,” it said.   Oil prices rose following the announcement: benchmark US crude surged by 2.4% to $65.57 per barrel in New York, and Brent crude jumped by 2.6% to $73.80.   The White House said that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would make up the difference in oil to ensure that global markets were not unsettled.   Following the US announcement, Iran described the sanctions as illegal. "Since the sanctions in question are principally illegal, the Islamic Republic of Iran did not and does not attach any value or credibility to the waivers," the Foreign Ministry said on its official website.   Turkey also said it would not respect the sanctions on oil imports from Iran. "We do not accept unilateral sanctions and impositions on the issue of how we will establish relations with our neighbours," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the state news agency Anadolu. Cavusoglu warned that the US move to end exemptions "will not serve regional peace and stability."       BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)

PHOTO: Anadolu Agency. Senior politicians visit the mausoleum of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on April 23, 2019.   Turkey celebrated the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish parliament on April 23, 2019.   Official ceremonies were scheduled in the Turkish capital of Ankara, including a special session of parliament with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.   Citing the role of parliament in Turkey’s Independence War that lead to the foundation of the republic under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Sentop described the General Assembly as a place where all different segments of the Turkish society meet under one roof.   “Searches for ways other than democracy and rhetoric that excludes dialogue and civil politics in a country like Turkey with a rooted tradition of elections and democracy mean undermining the future of this country,” he said.   Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop, Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Good (IVI) Party leader Meral Aksener, and other politicians also visited the mausoleum of the republic’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the capital Ankara.   “Our determination to work continues for our country’s unity and solidarity, and for nation’s peace and welfare,” Speaker Sentop wrote in the mausoleum’s memorial book.   Sovereignty Day has been observed since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the Republic of Turkey, but in 1979, the holiday’s name was changed to National Sovereignty and International Children’s Day.               PHOTO: Reuters. North Korean state media showed Mr Kim boarding his private train.   North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is on his way to Russia for a summit with President Vladimir Putin.   State media say that Kim is travelling on his private train. This meeting will be his first talks with the Russian president.   The Kremlin says that the two leaders will meet near the Pacific coast city of Vladivostok on Thursday and talk about the Korean peninsula’s “nuclear program”.   Russian President Putin’s foreign-policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, said the situation on the Korean peninsula had “stabilized somewhat” in recent months. “Russia intends to help in any way possible to cement that positive trend,” he told reporters on Tuesday.   North Korean state media has yet to confirm a time or location for the summit, but Russian and North Korean national flags are already in place in Vladivostok’s Russky island, where the meeting is expected to take place.   Russia has previously been involved in talks to end North Korea’s nuclear program. Former North Korean leader and Kim Jong-un’s father, Kim Jong-il, met then-Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in 2011.   A South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson said Russia “shares our viewpoints” on denuclearization and peace in the Korean peninsula.     BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)

  PHOTO: Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters. North Macedonia will face a presidential runoff in May after turnout was too low for Stevo Pendarovski or Gordana Siljanovska Davkova to win outright.   On Sunday, April 21, citizens of North Macedonia went to the polls to elect their new president.   With record low turn-out preventing any candidate winning outright on a first round on Sunday, the showdown between pro-EU and nationalist forces intensified as frontrunners Stevo Pendarovski and Gordana Siljanovska turned to courting ethnic Albanian voters ahead of a run-off on 5 May. After coming in third with 11%, the minority’s preferred candidate, Blerim Reka, was forced out of the race.   On Monday, with 99.96% of the votes counted, North Macedonia’s electoral commission announced that Stevo Pendarovski and Gordana Siljanovska were within a hair’s breadth of each other.   Pendarovski, an ardent supporter of the name change deal that has sealed de facto NATO membership for North Macedonia and paved the way for EU accession talks, held a lead with 42.85% or 323,846 votes. He was backed by the social democrat government and its junior ethnic Albanian partner, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI).   Siljanovska, the first woman to run for president since the former Yugoslav Republic claimed independence in the early 1990s, garnered 42.24%, or 319,240 votes. Backed by the conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, she vowed to contest the name change agreement before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague.   Because overall turnout remained only at 41.8% and North Macedonia’s electoral law requires a candidate to win support from 50% plus one vote of its 1.8 million electorate, a runoff has been called and the second round of elections will take place in May.   Northern Macedonia, previously known as the Republic of Macedonia, agreed to the new name to appease Greece’s long-held fears of possible irredentist claims against its own adjacent province of Macedonia. In exchange, Greece dropped objections to its northern neighbor joining NATO and the EU.       BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)