YEREVAN—The Socialist International Committee for the CIS, the Caucasus, and the Black Sea met in Yerevan on June 11-12, with 32 participants representing 15 parties from 13 countries, as well as the Socialist International (SI) and the Party of European Socialists (PES). The committee meeting, the first ever in Yerevan, brought together representatives of socialist and social-democratic parties from all over the region, including Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Greece, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Palestine, and was hosted by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF).
The participants held discussions on a number of topics, including important recent developments in the region. The agenda for the meeting covered (1) brief reports from countries of the region; (2) working towards a peaceful resolution to regional conflicts; (3) ensuring and consolidating the progress of democracy and its institutions in the region; and (4) advancing the social democratic platform in the countries of the CIS, the Caucasus, and the Black Sea.
The meeting was held at the Erebuni Business Center and was chaired by ARF Bureau member Mario Nalbandian nd Alexandra Dobolyi (MSzP, Hungary), co-chairs of the committee. Also attending the meeting were SI secretary general Luis Ayala, SI vice-president Maria Titizian (ARF, Armenia), and vice-chair of the committee Tadeusz Iwinski (SLD, Poland).
On June 11, ARF Bureau chairman Hrant Margaryan delivered welcoming remarks. On June 12, ARF Supreme Council of Armenia chairman Armen Rustamyan presented the report on Armenia.
On June 10, the first press conference was organized at the ARF Bureau headquarters. On June 12, a second press conference was held to inform the media on the deliberations and conclusions of the committee meeting.
The Socialist International is the worldwide organization of social democratic, socialist, and labor parties. It currently brings together 170 political parties and organizations from all continents.
The ARF rejoined the Socialist International in September 1996; it had originally joined in 1907. In 2003, the ARF became a full member of the Socialist International, becoming the only party in the CIS with such a status.
During the XXIII Congress of the Socialist International in Athens in June 2008, Titizian was elected vice-president of the organization. The SI Council in Mexico, November 2008, elected ARF-D Bureau member Mario Nalbandian as co-chair of the SI Committee for the CIS, the Caucasus, and the Black Sea.
The ARF Women’s Group is a member of the SIW (Socialist International Women) and the youth organization of the ARF, the Armenian Youth Federation, is a full member of the IUSY (International Union of Socialist Youth) and an observer member of the ECOSY (European Community Organization of Socialist Youth).
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