The Federation Council group for cooperation with Latin American parliaments and the parliamentary Costa Rica–Russia friendship group at the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly took part in a joint video conference.
The Federation Council group for cooperation with Latin American parliaments and the parliamentary Costa Rica–Russia friendship group at the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly took part in a joint video conference.
Russia was represented by members of the Federation Council group for cooperation with Latin American parliaments, including Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Andrei Klishas, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Lyudmila Bokova, member of the Federation Council Committee on Federal Structure, Regional Policy, Local Government and Northern Affairs Olga Starostina, member of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Olga Khokhlova, Deputy Director of the Latin America Department at the Foreign Ministry Alexei Labetsky, and Acting Head of the Latin America Section at the Economic Development Ministry’s Asia, Africa and Latin America Department Anna Yanushevskaya.
The Costa Rican officials included member of the Legislative Assembly and coordinator of the parliamentary Costa Rica–Russia friendship group Carlos Munoz Cespedes, member of the Legislative Assembly and member of the Directory Council at the Legislative Assembly Otto Vargas Viquez, members of the Legislative Assembly Luis Fernando Chacon Monge, Floria Segreda Sagot and Rodolfo Pena Camacho, Costa Rican Ambassador to Russia Lilliam Rodriguez Jimenez, Director General of Costa Rica’s Civil Aviation Authority Guillermo Hoppe Pacheco, and Mayor of Alajuela Laura Chaves Quiros.
“We consider Costa Rica to be a potential partner in Central America,” Andrei Klishas said.
“We join in the greetings that Chair of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko extended to newly-elected Chair of Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly Carlos Benavides,” the Senator said. “We are looking forward to engaging in a constructive political dialogue with President Carlos Alvarado Quesada’s government, which was appointed in May 2018, in order to strengthen and promote bilateral relations in political, trade, economic, humanitarian, cultural and other fields, as well as interaction in international affairs,” the Senator said. “We believe that we can effectively cooperate, drawing on the positive experience we have accumulated so far.”
Andrei Klishas said he was pleased to say that the inter-governmental visa-waiver agreement signed last year came into effect on 25 May this year. According to the Senator, this step offers new opportunities and will serve as an incentive to develop a range of bilateral relations.
“We are in favour of closer contact between our foreign ministries, which allows us to compare notes on key topics on the international and regional agendas and also to narrow the gaps in our positions on the issues on which we disagree,” the Senator said.
Andrei Klishas very much appreciated cooperation between the two countries in the international arena, which is built on the similarity of positions on many issues on the international agenda, as well as on the understanding of the necessity to enhance the leading role of the UN in international affairs as a unique mechanism for maintaining peace, security and stability, and countering new challenges and threats.
“We are grateful for the support Costa Rica invariably provides to our initiatives to counter the glorification of Nazism, ensure international information security, undertake to not be the first to deploy weapons in outer space, as well as taking measures to ensure transparency and build confidence in outer space,” the Senator said.
“The consistent development of cooperation with Costa Rica fits into our country’s policy of maintaining closer relations with the Latin American and Caribbean countries, building a Russian presence in this region and continuing substantive cooperation within the framework of leading Latin American integration associations, primarily the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the Central American Integration System,” Andrei Klishas said.
Another issue raised during the video conference was introducing direct flights between Russia and Costa Rica.
The Senator said that Russian parliamentarians were interested in advancing the inter-parliamentary dialogue in a bipartite format, as well as in multilateral organisations, such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum.
“We see prospects for establishing a Russia–Costa Rica parliamentary dialogue through the cooperation groups in our countries’ parliaments,” Andrei Klishas said. “In turn, we are set to consider the possibility of organising a full working visit to Russia by members of the Costa–Rica friendship group at Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly next year. We will welcome participation of a Costa Rican delegation in the upcoming Development of Parliamentarism International Forum scheduled to take place in Moscow on 1–2 July this year.”