The Speaker of the Federation Council held a meeting with the President of the Senate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko met with the President of the Senate (the upper house of the States General) of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Ankie Broekers-Knol. The meeting was attended by Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Iliyas Umakhanov, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Defence and Security Viktor Bondarev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev, member of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy and Chief of the Group on Cooperation between the Federation Council and the Benelux Parliaments Alexei Dmitriyenko.
“The Federation Council is interested in developing relations with our Dutch colleagues. We appreciate the initiative of the Dutch MPs to foster the dialogue with Russia,” Valentina Matvienko said.
According to Matvienko, parliamentarians can do a lot to ease tensions and improve relations between countries.
The Speaker of the Federation Council noted that Russian senators are interested in pursuing a dialogue. “Russia is ready and open for this cooperation. We can make the political climate healthier and regain trust.”
Ankie Broekers-Knol thanked Valentina Matvienko for the invitation to visit Russia and said that members of the Senate in the Netherlands unanimously approved her decision to pay a visit. Broekers-Knol said the Prime Minister of the Netherlands also expressed satisfaction with developing interparliamentary dialogue.
Valentina Matvienko meets the President of the Senate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Ankie Broekers-Knol
“In this challenging international environment, it is important to continue communicating. I am confident that conducting a dialogue and maintaining contact is of fundamental significance when it comes to achieving progress in relations between countries. We can discuss even the most problematic issues on the parliamentary level,” Ankie Broekers-Knol said.
During their meeting, Valentina Matvienko and Ankie Broekers-Knol also discussed Dutch-Russian trade and economic relations, the possibility of revival and expansion of joint humanitarian and cultural projects, the role of the parliaments in the promotion of interregional cooperation.
Valentina Matvienko praised the productive work of the Dutch delegation at the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in St Petersburg and invited her Dutch colleagues to participate in the upcoming events at the Second Eurasian Women's Forum, including the Women 20, or the W20 group, which will also be held in St Petersburg.