THE PRESIDENT
LE PRÉSIDENT
078 CIR 20 E
15 April 2020
TO SECRETARIES OF DELEGATION FOR DISTRIBUTION TO ALL MEMBERS
Message from NATO PA President Attila Mesterhazy
Dear colleagues,
As promised, I would like to update you on my activities since my last message to you on 6 March 2020.
First of all, I hope this message finds you healthy and safe in these exceptional times, which challenge
our way of life and have brought large parts of our societies and economies to a halt.
In these days, my thoughts are first and foremost with the relatives of all those who have lost their lives
to the virus and with the many more who are hospital-bound and fighting off the infection. As you know,
some Assembly members have also contracted the disease. I wish them all the strength they need to
achieve a speedy and full recovery.
I also wish to pay tribute to all those on the frontlines against COVID-19, including our medical
professionals, military personnel, and scientists. The courage and dedication these citizens showcase
every day and every night is truly remarkable and admirable.
You can read my Statement on the
Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
published on 19 March on our
website.
The key to overcoming this crisis lies in each and every one of us acting responsibly and caring for the
others as well as for themselves. Through solidarity and unity of purpose, we will stand strong together
and defeat this invisible enemy.
In this regard, I welcome the conclusions of the NATO Foreign Ministers’
meeting last week on COVID-19
and NATO’s commitment to look into further ways of assisting
affected
allies.
I see an important role for our Assembly in the coming months in analysing the many dimensions of this
global crisis and helping us draw the lessons from it.
Of course, this situation has unfortunately led to the cancellation or postponement of several of our
meetings, including the
Standing Committee meeting
which was due to be held on 28-30 March in
Luxembourg. I trust you have also seen the joint letter by myself and our Secretary General Ruxandra
Popa on the
postponement of the Spring Session in Kyiv.
As we said, we are currently discussing
several options for alternative arrangements, and we hope to be able to get back to you with more
information in the coming weeks.
In this time when we have no activities planned, I want to ensure that our Assembly continues to make
its voice heard on the coronavirus crisis, as well as on other international events relevant to us.
I have therefore increased the number of Presidential Statements, and encouraged more outreach over
our social media platforms.
In the beginning of March, we received encouraging news from
Georgia,
where the government and
opposition reached a political agreement on electoral reforms. Having previously addressed the
issue,
I issued a
statement
warmly welcoming the agreement. I encouraged all political factions to build upon
it to strengthen confidence, reduce polarisation, and bolster the Georgian people’s trust in their
democracy.
INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT
· SECRÉTARIAT INTERNATIONAL
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