The Federation Council Speaker and the President of the National Assembly of People’s Power and the Council of State of Cuba discussed prospects for interparliamentary collaboration.
Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko met with Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power and the Council of State of Cuba.
The Speaker of the Federation Council said that the MPs of the two countries are in permanent contact, and that this has major significance for special relations with Cuba. “Your visits to Russia always produce results and help advance cooperation on the basis of highest-level agreements. Trust-based dialogue between the leaders of our countries sets the pace for the entire system of relations of strategic partnership,” Valentina Matvienko said.
The Speaker of the Federation Council expressed confidence that all meetings held during the visit would elevate relations to a new level and would strengthen strategic partnership.
She added that Cuban MPs were staying in Moscow ahead of the visit by President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez who will take part in the May 9 celebrations. “This year is filled with significant anniversaries, including the 80th anniversary of Victory in World War II, the 65th anniversary of restoring diplomatic relations between our countries since the triumphant victory of the Cuban revolution, as well as the 45th anniversary of the Soviet-Cuban space mission involving Yury Romanenko and Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez.
Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández noted the significance of celebrating the 80th anniversary in the Great Patriotic War for the entire humankind. “Thanks to the feat of the Soviet people, Nazism did not spread all over the world. Even those countries which deny this historical fact should thank your country for this.”
The officials touched upon issues of trade, economic and investment collaboration. The Speaker of the Federation Council believes that our main objective is to build long-term ties, unaffected by external influence. These ties will guarantee the energy and food security of Cuba and will also help modernise the industrial complex and infrastructure. “The MPs will continue to promote Russian-Cuban collaboration and to expand interregional contacts,” Valentina Matvienko said. She also noted the active work of the group for cooperation with the National Assembly of People’s Power of Cuba.
Attending the meeting were Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin, Chair of the Committee on the Budget and Financial Markets Anatoly Artamonov, Chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Food Policy and Environmental Management Alexander Dvoinykh, Chair of the Committee on the Rules of Procedure and Parliamentary Governance Vyacheslav Timchenko, First Deputy Chair of the Committee on Economic Policy Alexei Sinitsyn and Deputy Chair of the Committee on Science, Education and Culture Lyudmila Skakovskaya.