The President of the Russian Federation spoke at the opening ceremony of the conference.
The opening ceremony of the Russia-Latin America International Parliamentary Conference was held in Moscow. The main theme of the conference is “Russia and Latin America: Cooperation for the benefit of a just world for all.”
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin spoke during the opening ceremony. He stressed that the arrival of a representative group of legislators from Latin America who express the will of their constituents and are called upon to work in their interests is added proof of the people’s desire to develop a comprehensive mutually beneficial partnership with Russia. “Stepping up direct dialogue through parliaments opens up very good opportunities for deepening our cooperation and expanding it through new areas of joint activity,” the President said.
Vladimir Putin noted the extensive conference programme and the importance of discussing the role of parliamentary diplomacy in strengthening cooperation between Russia and Latin American countries in a variety of areas: politics and security, socioeconomic and humanitarian issues.
The following officials took part in the opening ceremony: Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin and the heads of a number of groups for cooperation with parliaments of Latin American countries: Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Andrey Klishas, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Yury Fedorov, and Member of the Federation Council Committee on the Budget and Financial Markets Dina Oyun.
Guests of the conference include parliamentarians from Latin America, the Caribbean and Russia, representatives of international parliamentary organisations, Russian and Latin American experts, public figures and representatives of state authorities and the diplomatic corps.
The schedule of the conference includes roundtable discussions and a plenary session.