The Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council addressed the meeting of the IPA CIS Commission on Political Issues and International Cooperation.
Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev held a meeting of the Commission of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly (IPA CIS) on Political Issues and International Cooperation. The event took place in Bishkek as part of the IPA CIS autumn session.
Konstantin Kosachev talked about the results of the 9th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) held in New Delhi on 12–14 October 2023. This year, the summit was held under the slogan, Parliaments for One Earth, One Family, One Future. The participants discussed the agenda of sustainable development for the period up to 2030, the transition to sustainable energy sources and a green future, attainment of gender equality, expansion of women’s rights, and changing human lives with the help of social digital platforms.
The Deputy Speaker said that in his opinion the energy transition should not become an instrument of competition and discrimination. Moreover, the advanced countries should provide other states with guarantees of access to technology and financial resources.
Konstantin Kosachev said that the Federation Council Speaker urged the participants not to use energy as a geopolitical weapon, a tool of blackmail or a means of impeding development, noting that the attempts of certain states to monopolise and politicise this issue are slowing the transition to a green economy. “In New Delhi, Russian MPs shared their experience of providing legislation for the transition to green energy. They told the participants about the adoption of numerous laws to limit greenhouse emissions in the economy and the promotion of the environmental agenda through parliamentary diplomacy, in part, by holding Neva International Environmental Congress under Federation Council aegis,” he said.
The main debates unfolded around the adoption of the joint statement – the summit’s final document, the Deputy Speaker noted. “The attacks by unfriendly countries were nipped in the bud by the Russian parliamentary delegation, resulting in the well-balanced final document. In drafting key formulations, we were guided by New Delhi Declaration of the G20 leaders of 10 September 2023,” Konstantin Kosachev said.
During the session, the participants also discussed organisational issues, results of the events of international and inter-parliamentary organizations, and efforts to coordinate actions by the parliamentary delegations from the CIS countries. They emphasised that the escalation of modern forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance is unacceptable.
Sergei Rachkov, Chair of the Permanent Commission on International Affairs and National Security of the Council of the Republic of the Belarusian National Assembly, cited statements made by Belarusian MPs on connection with the honouring of a member of a Nazi military unit in Canadian Parliament and the intensified attempts to deny the heroic Victory of the Soviet people over fascism.
Konstantin Kosachev described in detail the Memory Train cultural and educational project, saying that its main goal is to enable schoolchildren from the participating countries to visit places linked with the history of the 1941–1945 Great Patriotic War, make friends with their mates from other cities, regions and countries, and learn more about the culture and traditions of other peoples. The Deputy Speaker recalled that only high school students from Russia and Belarus had taken part in the first project in 2022, whereas this year’s participants included school students from four countries. “Schoolchildren from Russia and Belarus were joined by their mates from Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. Considering the accumulated positive experience, we want to continue expanding the geography of participation in the Memory Train project to engage more teenagers from different CIS countries,” the senator emphasised.
First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov also attended the meeting.