Zimbabwe supports the Russian Federation in security matters, said Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Zimbabwe Jacob Mudenda.
Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko met with Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Zimbabwe Jacob Mudenda.
The meeting was attended by Senators Konstantin Kosachev, Grigory Karasin, Alexander Varfolomeev, Lyudmila Skakovskaya, and Gennady Ordenov.
“We appreciate the fact that Zimbabwe has maintained the course for the development of bilateral relations and mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia,” the Federation Council Speaker said. She noted that both countries were confidently withstanding the unprecedented pressure brought to bear on them by the US-led “collective West” as well as its undisguised attempts to impose its will.
Valentina Matvienko stressed that Russian senators support their Zimbabwean colleagues’ intention to energise the entire complex of relations and to promote the inter-parliamentary dialogue.
“We are satisfied that our inter-parliamentary collaboration is picking up momentum,” she said, adding that the Federation Council established a Group for Cooperation with the Senate of the Republic of Zimbabwe.
“We expect the Zimbabwean Senate to establish an identical group. Besides, we hope for an early signing of the Agreement on Cooperation between the Senate of Zimbabwe and the Federation Council,” Valentina Matvienko emphasised.
Jacob Mudenda conveyed the position of the [Zimbabwean] head of state, saying that Zimbabwe supports the Russian Federation in security matters and in its counteraction of the aggressive US-guided NATO policies. According to Mr Mudenda, Russia is upholding the right principles and Zimbabwe is clearly aware of Russia’s aim in this conflict. He stressed that Zimbabwe’s position on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will remain unchanged at the IPU venue.
“The NATO and US actions against Russia are fully at odds with international law,” Jacob Mudenda said.
He noted that the Zimbabwean MPs are ready to work with their Russian colleagues to improve quality of life in both countries.
Both speakers discussed in detail a wide range of international and inter-parliamentary issues of mutual interest.
Valentina Matvienko updated Jacob Mudenda on the situation in Ukraine. They also discussed bilateral interaction at international parliamentary venues, specifically the 145th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Second Russia-Africa Summit scheduled for the summer of 2023 in St Petersburg.
The parties also compared notes on Zimbabwean representatives’ visits to the Russian Federation to attend high-level events.
The speakers focused on the implementation of the agreements reached during the Federation Council Speaker’s official visit to the Republic of Zimbabwe in June 2022. Among other things, it was agreed to explore opportunities for using alternative forms of mutual financial settlements, to establish parliamentary control over the implementation of joint initiatives, including projects in subsurface management, agriculture, energy, healthcare and university education, and to improve bilateral legal infrastructure.
Valentina Matvienko assured her counterpart that the Russian parliamentarians were keeping tabs on the project to open a monument dedicated to Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 on the premises of the Museum of African Liberation being created in Zimbabwe.