Members of the two parliaments’ friendship groups also held a meeting.
Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev met with Vice-President of the National Assembly of Laos Souvone Lueangbounmy.
The meeting was attended by member of the Federation Council Committee on Agriculture and Food Policy and Environmental Management Gennady Ordenov and member of the Federation Council Committee on the Budget and Financial Markets Tatiana Sakharova, who represented the Federation Council’s group for cooperation with the National Assembly of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
“Russia and Laos have a long history of friendship and mutual support, and the broad agenda of our relations is immune to political factors. It is focused on practical matters, including ties between our parliaments, which are based on a common understanding of a fair world order,” Konstantin Kosachev pointed out.
He noted that the upper house of Russia’s parliament paid considerable attention to the development of Russia-Laos inter-parliamentary ties.
The Deputy Speaker called for continuing the broad dialogue on combating neo-colonialism at various international inter-parliamentary platforms.
Konstantin Kosachev and Souvone Lueangbounmy discussed the global situation, including regional issues, as well as ways to build up economic relations and cultural cooperation between the two countries.
Souvone Lueangbounmy thanked Russia for helping Laos during its national liberation struggle.
The Vice-President of the Lao National Assembly expressed readiness to continue to interact on the entire range of issues on the bilateral agenda.
Before that, members of the Federation Council’s group for cooperation with the Lao National Assembly – senators Pavel Tarakanov (head of the group), Gennady Ordenov, Tatiana Sakharova and member of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Rimma Galushina – met with Souvone Lueangbounmy and representatives of the Lao group of friendship with the Federal Assembly.
Pavel Tarakanov spoke about the development of friendly relations between the MPs of Russia and Laos and described them as highly reliable. “This meeting is evidence of successful cooperation between our parliaments’ friendship groups,” he said.
“We are resolved to continue working to formalise the legal parameters of our interparliamentary cooperation and strengthen its legal framework,” Pavel Tarakanov said.
The senator expressed appreciation for the results of the meeting between the young Russian and Lao MPs and called for holding such events regularly.
The Russian senators expressed interest in strengthening ties between the relevant committees and readiness to exchange law-making experience.
The MPs also discussed the outlook for bilateral cooperation and a broad range of other issues, including boosting trade and economic cooperation, investment activities and dialogue between the two countries’ businesses.