Valentina Matvienko noted growth in trade and stronger political and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko held talks with Chairman of the State Council of the Sultanate of Oman AbdulMalik bin Abdullah Al Khalili on the sidelines of the 9th G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit in New Delhi. Valentina Matvienko said that recently the two countries had considerably stepped up their political dialogue and she invited her colleague to pay a visit to Russia.
The Speaker of the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament thanked the Oman leaders for their balanced and well-considered position on the situation in and around Ukraine. “We appreciate Oman’s independent policy and the fact that, despite the pressure, the country has not joined the anti-Russia sanctions,” she said. AbdulMalik bin Abdullah Al Khalili reaffirmed his country’s commitment to its foreign policy.
Valentina Matvienko noted growth in mutual investment and an increase of more than 100 percent in trade in the first half of 2023. “It is important that contacts at the top political level provide an impetus to other areas,” she said. “We should create conditions for our businesses to boost trade and expand our economic cooperation.”
Speaking of important areas of bilateral economic relations, Valentina Matvienko mentioned the project to build the North-South international transport corridor and praised the progress made towards cooperation in the agrarian sector. Addressing her colleague, Valentina Matvienko also suggested speeding up the signing of an agreement on visa-free travel for people with international passports and an agreement on cooperation in culture.
AbdulMalik bin Abdullah Al Khalili said he was looking forward to meeting with Valentina Matvienko in Russia next year. “I believe the work of our parliaments will have a favourable effect on the development of relations between our two countries.”
The two officials also touched on issues related to the introduction of direct flights between Moscow and Muscat.
Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev took part in the meeting.