The Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization plans to establish a special institution of CSTO PA partners, who will enjoy advisory voting rights, the CSTO PA chair, Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, said at a meeting of the organization's Council on Thursday.

"There is a proposal for considering the question of introducing the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly's new institution of partnership. The partners will have the advisory vote and the right to participate in the drafting of documents and collective decisions," he said. 

He stressed that the emergence of this new status would be of great importance for enhancing the effectiveness of the assembly's work and its transparency.

"The more so, since a number of countries displayed interest in cooperation within the CSTO PA framework. In this connection the status of CSTO observers and partners will give extra opportunities for stepping up inter-parliamentary cooperation with countries and international organizations that share our principles of work," Volodin said.

Volodin called for enhancing coordination with the CSTO PA "for more effective promotion and protection is agenda" on international platforms.

So far, the CSTO PA, alongside its full-scale members had only observer countries (Afghanistan and Serbia).

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