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Korean National Assembly Speaker Jung Ui-hwa speaks at the MIKTA Speakers’ Consultation 2015 that gets under way in Seoul.
Parliamentary leaders of four middle powers -- so-called MIKTA -- participate in the MIKTA Speakers' Consulttion 2015 that opened for a five-day run in Seoul on July 1.
The first meeting of MIKTA, short for the initials of Mexico, Korea, Turkey, and Australia, takes place at the initiative of Korean National Assembly Speaker Jung Ui-hwa.
MIKTA was inaugurated as a consultative body of the middle powers in September 2013 -- G20 member countries ranking 12th through 18th in terms of gross domestic demand (GDP) in the world, but do not belong to G7 countries and BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), which share core values of democracy and peace.
On hand at the meeting that gets under way under the theme “Parliamentary Leadership for a Global Future” are Korean Speaker Chung, Mexican Senate Speaker Miguel Barbosa, Australian Sen. Stephen Parry, and Chairman Irman Gusman of the House of the Regional Representatives of Indonesia. Turkey did not send a delegation since a new parliamentary leader has yet to be elected following a general election in June.
The meeting that begins at Seoul Westin Hotel on July 2 is composed of three general sessions and a special session for the host country. During the special session that takes place between the second and third sessions, Korean Speaker Chung is to suggest solutions on the unification of the Korean Peninsula and North Korean nuclear issues and call for member countries’ cooperation and support.
The first session will touch on middle powers’ parliamentary roles for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The second session will deal with member countries’ regional pending issues and ways of promoting cooperation for finding solutions. The third session will discuss ways of operating MIKTA meetings and issuance of a communique.
The participating parliamentary leaders will hold bilateral meetings to discuss matters of mutual concern.
The MIKTA meeting will also coincide with a meeting of special advisers from the member countries designed to evaluate the current MIKTA meeting and explore future development tasks.
By Chung Sook Oh.
