The Speaker of the Federation Council and the Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus had a conversation on the sidelines of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly in St Petersburg.
Speaker of the Federation Council and Chair of the Council of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, Valentina Matvienko, met with Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Natalya Kochanova. The meeting took place in St Petersburg on the sidelines of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly's spring session.
The Speaker of the Federation Council emphasised the importance of parliamentary cooperation within the framework of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and of developing model legislation. She thanked Natalya Kochanova for the active participation of Belarusian parliamentarians in the Assembly’s events and the work of its governing bodies.
The discussions also focused on the preparations for the 13th Forum of Belarusian and Russian Regions, which will be held this year in Minsk and the Minsk Region. The Speaker of the Federation Council drew attention to the fact that, going forward, the forum will be held once every two years.
“Our integration association has proven its success. Russia and Belarus recently marked the 30th anniversary of the Treaty on the Establishment of the Community of Russia and Belarus, which laid the foundation for integration between our countries. We can see that our leaders made the right and timely decision. At the same time, our parliaments have made an important contribution to the development of the Union State,” Valentina Matvienko said.
In her view, the Union State serves as an example of how countries can cooperate on an equal and mutually beneficial basis while preserving their sovereignty and taking each other's national interests into account.
According to the Speaker of the Council of the Republic, the high standard of bilateral relations and the strong momentum of cooperation are set by the presidents of the two countries. “This includes trade and economic cooperation, humanitarian ties, and the joint protection of our shared national interests and values,” Natalya Kochanova said.
Valentina Matvienko also highlighted the significant personal contribution made by Natalya Kochanova and members of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus to the implementation of the joint cultural and educational project, Memory Train.
The meeting was attended Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin and First Deputy Chair of the Committee Vladimir Dzhabarov, as well as Secretary-General of the Council of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, Dmitry Kobitsky.