The discussion focused on inter-parliamentary cooperation, including at international platforms.
Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federative Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the Russian Federation, Cham Ugala Uriat. They discussed the development of Russian-Ethiopian relations, including following the outcome of talks between Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko and Speaker of the Ethiopian House of Federation Agegnehu Teshager.
Grigory Karasin noted the two countries’ traditionally friendly interstate ties. “This year, we celebrated the 125th anniversary of diplomatic relations,” he said.
The federal officials praised the progress of the countries’ political dialogue. According to the senator, the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in 2019 gave a big boost to its development. “The recent visit of Speaker of the Ethiopian House of Federation to Russia as well as the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the upper houses of our parliaments will allow for bilateral parliamentary relations to move to a new level,” Grigory Karasin emphasised.
He noted the Ethiopian delegation’s participation in the 2nd Russia-Africa International Parliamentary Conference in Moscow. “We highly appreciate the independent policy that Addis Ababa pursues in international affairs, where our countries have concurring or close stances on many pressing issues.”
Grigory Karasin stressed the relevance of Ethiopia’s balanced position on the Ukraine issue amidst the pressure from the collective West, noting that Russia’s Ethiopian partners refuse to engage in the blatantly anti-Russia campaigns and information wars.
The participants called for taking efforts to strengthen cooperation at international platforms, including various UN agencies.
Speaking about bilateral trade and economic cooperation, Grigory Karasin and Cham Ugala Uriat talked about cooperation in the nuclear energy sector, the aircraft industry, and in engineering.
Another important subject was education, with a focus on educating Ethiopian professionals in Russia.
The meeting was attended by First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov and Head of the Federation Council’s Group for Cooperation with the Ethiopian House of Federation and Member of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Nikolay Vladimirov.