The Federation Council Speaker met with the Chairman of the Senate of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko met with Yusuf Raza Gilani, Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, who is in Moscow on an official visit.
The Federation Council Speaker highlighted the active dialogue between the parliaments of the two countries. Valentina Matvienko recalled the productive visit of the Federation Council delegation to Islamabad last autumn, during which a roadmap for expanding interparliamentary cooperation was outlined and is now being actively implemented.
“We also met last month on the sidelines of the 150th IPU Assembly in Uzbekistan,” she noted. “And last November, we received Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in Russia.
“The regularity of these meetings serves as clear evidence of the strong and growing friendship between the parliaments of both countries. This year’s schedule of bilateral contacts is particularly busy, which reflects the mutual interest in exploring new, mutually beneficial avenues of cooperation. We see great potential that must be further realised,” Valentina Matvienko added.
She also noted the active role of the cooperation group between the Federation Council and the Senate of Pakistan, led by First Deputy Chairman of the Defence and Security Committee Vladimir Chizhov.
The Speaker also highlighted the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Victory held in Russia: the parade on Red Square was attended by many foreign delegations, leaders, and military units.
“It was the Soviet people who took the most devastating blow of this war. There is not a single family in Russia untouched by that tragedy. We will never allow the significance of the Great Victory to be diminished, the historical truth to be distorted, or attempts to rehabilitate Nazism to go unchallenged,” Valentina Matvienko stressed. She expressed sincere gratitude to the leadership of Pakistan, including Yusuf Raza Gilani, for visiting the Russian Embassy in Islamabad to attend a reception marking the anniversary of Victory Day.
Yusuf Raza Gilani noted that the meeting at the Federation Council would mark an important milestone in the development of the partnership between the two countries.
The meeting participants discussed business cooperation, including between regions, as well as interaction in education and culture.
The dialogue reaffirmed the shared or closely aligned positions of Russia and Pakistan on a wide range of regional and global issues, along with their productive collaboration within the UN, the SCO, and other multilateral formats.
Valentina Matvienko expressed her confidence that the Chairman of the Pakistani Senate’s visit would help expand interparliamentary cooperation and promote Russian-Pakistani relations.
The meeting was also attended by Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Defence and Security Vladimir Chizhov, and First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on the Budget and Financial Markets Mukharby Ulbashev.