IPA CIS Council Chairperson and Speaker of the Federation Council met with PARLACEN President Amado Cerrud Acevedo and his Vice-President Guillermo Daniel Ortega Reyes.
Speaker of the Federation Council and Chairperson of the Council of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States Valentina Matvienko met with senior executives from the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) to discuss inter-parliamentary cooperation prospects. The conversation with PARLACEN President Amado Cerrud Acevedo and his Vice-President Guillermo Daniel Ortega Reyes took place on the sidelines of an IPA CIS session in St Petersburg.
The Federation Council Speaker said the Russian parliament and IPA CIS have been engaged in meaningful and mutually beneficial cooperation with PARLACEN, even if these ties were established only recently. She went on to refer to interactions at the assembly as mutually beneficial and substantial. “The fact that your delegation is taking part in an IPA CIS session demonstrates PARLACEN’s interest in stepping up our cooperation,” Ms Matvienko said.
Ms Matvienko also emphasised Mr Reyes’ personal contribution to reinforcing Russia’s inter-parliamentary cooperation with the Central American countries, reminding her colleagues that he was proactive in facilitating the signing of a Cooperation Agreement between the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and PARLACEN. The Federation Council Speaker informed those taking part in the meeting about the decision by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin to award Guillermo Daniel Ortega Reyes with the Order of Friendship, a state decoration of the Russian Federation.
The Federation Council Speaker mentioned the women’s agenda as an important track for working together with PARLACEN, including as part of efforts to promote direct dialogue with the Council of the Eurasian Women’s Forum.
“Holding regular joint online events, like the virtual seminar “Parliamentarians for peace,” which brought together leaders from the Federation Council and PARLACEN in May 2022, could become a good tradition for us,” Ms Matvienko said.
She welcomed the proposal by Mr Acevedo to draft a roadmap for the Federal Assembly’s cooperation with PARLACEN.
The Latin American and Caribbean countries are playing an increasingly prominent role in international affairs, the Federation Council Speaker pointed out, adding that not a single country in Latin American or the Caribbean joined the Western sanctions against Russia, except the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Speaking of the possible agenda for cooperation, Ms Matvienko mentioned, among other things, global cyber security. They also discussed prospects for working together in the space sector, including during World Space Week, held by the United Nations.
Ms Matvienko praised PARLACEN for its initiative to join IPA CIS as an observer and talked about the Assembly’s efforts to draft model laws and harmonise national laws as a foundation for reinforcing cooperation among its member nations.
The Russian parliamentarians reaffirmed their commitment to promoting relations with the Central American countries in multilateral, as well as bilateral formats.
Mr Acevedo added that cooperation was expanding at various levels and across multiple spheres. He stressed the commitment by PARLACEN and its member parliaments to step up their contacts with Russia and IPA CIS.
During the meeting, the participants also touched on the idea of establishing a Eurasian-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EurasiaLat).
Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin, and IPA CIS Secretary General and Secretariat Head Dmitry Kobitsky attended the meeting.