Moldovan parliamentary delegation to attend Community of Democracies Parliamentary Forum

A delegation of the Moldovan Parliament will take part in the meeting of the Community of Democracies Parliamentary Forum that will be held in Washington on September 15. It will be headed by Liberal MP Ion Apostol, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a communique from the legislative body. This year, the meeting of the Parliamentary Forum is themed “Borders of Democracy: Challenges in Eastern Europe and Central and Southern America” and was timed to coincide with the International Day of Democracy. The aim of the meeting is to strengthen democracy in the regions bordering the U.S. and the EU. It will center on problems related to democracy strengthening in Eastern Europe and Central and Southern America and the solutions proposed by U.S. and EU lawmakers for developing democracy in the region. Founded in 2000, the Community of Democracies is a global intergovernmental alliance bringing together more than 100 democratic countries. It is chaired by Lithuania in 2009-2011. The major goal of the Community is to promote and strengthen democratic norms and institutions all over the world. The Parliamentary Forum set up in March 2010 is an informal organization that includes MPs of the member states of the Community of Democracies. On behalf of Moldova, the declaration on the Forum's foundation, called also the Vilnius Declaration, was signed by Acting President Mihai Ghimpu and MP Ion Hadarca. The Parliamentary Forum convenes at least twice a year and approves action plans and strategies for developing democracies worldwide. The participants in the meetings also formulate recommendations for the new democracies or for the states where democracy is in danger. The next meetings of the Parliamentary Forum will take place in Tbilisi at the end of this year and in Brussels in the first half of 2011.