Participants in the 2nd Meeting of the Chairs of the Committees on International Affairs of BRICS Parliaments discussed the agenda for the upcoming 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, scheduled to take place on 11–12 July in St Petersburg.
The Federation Council hosted the 2nd Working Meeting of the Chairs of the Committees on International Affairs of BRICS Parliaments.
Attending the meeting were Deputy Federation Council Speaker Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin, first deputy chairs of the Federation Council Committee Vladimir Dzhabarov, Sergei Kislyak and Andrey Denisov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky, as well as distinguished high-ranking guests from BRICS countries, including Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
The participants discussed the tentative agenda for the upcoming 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, scheduled to take place on 11–12 July in St Petersburg, as well as its programme and organisational format.
Konstantin Kosachev emphasised that the format of the current meeting of Chairs of International Affairs Committees meets the participants’ expectations. “BRICS’ parliamentary dimension continues to develop,” the Deputy Speaker of Federation Council said. He noted that collective preparations for the 10th Parliamentary Forum involving all BRICS participants are underway.
Konstantin Kosachev proposed appointing representatives from each BRICS country to take responsibility for joint work on the Forum’s agenda and draft concluding documents. The Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs suggested First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee Sergei Kislyak as a candidate for this role.
Grigory Karasin outlined proposals for the programme of the upcoming Forum. The 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum is to take place on 11–12 July in St Petersburg in a new extended format involving speakers of BRICS states’ parliaments, as well as representatives of international and regional parliamentary organisations from the Commonwealth of Independent States.
“The Forum’s discussions will focus on issues of consolidating multilateral aspects of global politics, promoting common interests of BRICS countries at international platforms, expanding economic and financial cooperation, as well as fostering humanitarian and cultural cooperation,” Grigory Karasin said.
The participants also suggested holding a meeting of young MPs from BRICS member countries and emphasised the importance of active participation of female MPs in this work.
“These formats will contribute to actively promoting the unifying BRICS agenda and facilitate a more comprehensive exchange of experience,” Grigory Karasin noted.
The meeting participants, chairs of international affairs committees of BRICS parliaments supported the proposals and advanced their own initiatives for strengthening interparliamentary cooperation within BRICS.