The Federation Council’s Deputy Speaker leads the council’s delegation.
Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev is taking part in the 43rd General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) held in Phnom Penh, the Kingdom of Cambodia, on 20–24 November. The Deputy Speaker is leading the Federation Council’s delegation, which includes First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Andrey Denisov, First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Alexei Chepa and Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy Yulia Saranova.
The assembly is being attended by delegations from eight of the 10 AIPA members (excluding Malaysia and Myanmar), as well as from observer parliaments (Australia, Belarus, Canada, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Timor-Leste and Ukraine), the European Parliament and invited countries and organisations. The delegations of seven ASEAN countries were represented by their parliament speakers.
The agenda included economic matters, post-Covid economic recovery, fostering engagement with young people for a sustainable ASEAN Community, enhancing digital transformation for inclusive social protection, fostering parliamentary partnership in addressing climate change, as well as building social prosperity in regional countries and international security.
Konstantin Kosachev took part in a meeting held by Heng Samrin, President the National Assembly of Cambodia and the President of the 43rd AIPA, with the heads of delegations from observer parliaments. During the meeting, Konstantin Kosachev delivered the address by Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko to the forum participants and a message of greetings from State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
Konstantin Kosachev’s remarks at the plenary session focused on joint progress towards a sustainable, inclusive and resilient ASEAN.
“Members of the Russian parliament have always regarded Asian nations as good neighbours and loyal allies. We welcome all initiatives aimed at strengthening cooperation in the region. Moreover, inclusion and joint actions are fully aligned with the current spirit of the rise of a multipolar world order where one of the pillars is a prosperous Asian-Pacific Region. This historical process is irreversible. We can only influence the speed of the world’s movement towards a fairer and more open system without any economic pressure, political blackmail or sanctions,” Konstantin Kosachev pointed out.
He went on to say that this transformation did not suit the forces that had grown used to ruling the world single-handedly. “Today, these global forces are in a systemic crisis, but instead of openly admitting this, they continue to draw other nations into that crisis. Russia is categorically against this policy, which is based on bloc mentality.”
The Deputy Speaker noted that the world must show more patience, restraint and readiness for compromise. “Therefore, we believe that parliaments should join forces to strengthen the dialogue mechanisms, which have been working efficiently for decades.”
Konstantin Kosachev recalled that relations between Russia and ASEAN over the past 30 years had been based on the invaluable principle of pragmatic and equal cooperation. “When developing relations with ASEAN and individual members, we have always acted to promote mutually beneficial cooperation, learn from their experience and coordinate our future plans.”
As part of the dialogue between ASEAN nations and AIPA observer countries, the delegation of the Federation Council met with delegates from the parliaments of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The main topic of these discussions was Investing in Peace, Sustainable Development, and Post Covid-19 Recovery. The Russian delegates put forth Russia’s position on the main aspects of cooperation with regional countries and topical international issues.
The Russian delegation met with Vice President of the Cambodian Senate Tep Ngorn, Chairman of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vuong Dinh Hue and President of the National Assembly of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic Saysomphone Phomvihane.
Konstantin Kosachev also met on the sidelines of the assembly with Speaker of the National Assembly (Milli Mejlis) of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova. Azerbaijan’s parliament has been granted the status of observer parliament at the AIPA.
The 44th AIPA General Assembly will be held in Indonesia in August 2023.