The Chairman of the State Duma
Vyacheslav Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich
The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast)
held a meeting with the Chairperson of the National Council
of Provinces of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa Refilwe Maria Mtsweni-Tsipane. Relevant issues related to development of bilateral inter-parliamentary cooperation were discussed at the meeting.
The Chairman of the State Duma recalled that the Declaration, adopted at the Second Russia-Africa Summit in 2023 by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and leaders of African states, included the task to strengthen the inter-parliamentary cooperation. To build a good dialogue with other countries, Russia always relies on the “principles of friendship, non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states, and absence of double standards,” as he stressed.
“By following the decisions of our leaders, we should do our best for the development of the inter-parliamentary cooperation, make our interaction more systematic to implement the interstate agreements, make our own contribution to strengthening of relations between our nations,” emphasized Vyacheslav Volodin.
The Chairman of the State Duma added that the visit of Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane to Russia would give an additional impetus to the bilateral cooperation. “We will understand each other better, and we see your intention to develop relations, so, from our part, we will do the same,” he said.
“We highly value the history of our interaction, we do not forget that and use it as a foundation for political cooperation as well. We believe that trust and mutual understanding can help to protect and improve relations between our countries. And of course, Russia is one of those states that we can fully rely on,” emphasized the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces of the Parliament of South Africa. Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane also noted that the Republic of South Africa “is impressed by Russia’s achievements and that despite of all sanctions, the economy and the country itself are developing.”
According to her, in order to enhance the partnership between the parliaments of the two states it is definitely necessary to work together, to exchange the current knowledge and experience to improve the economic interaction.
