The Federation Council Speaker met with Speaker of Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko held a meeting with Speaker of the Mazhilis, the lower house of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yerlan Koshanov, who headed a parliamentary delegation during its visit to Russia.
The two speakers noted that Russia and Kazakhstan share allied relations and emphasised the role of their respective heads of state in promoting the bilateral dialogue.
Valentina Matvienko pointed out that Russia appreciated the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s attendance at the opening ceremony of the Games of the Future in Kazan, as well as his proposal to host the next games in Kazakhstan.
The Federation Council Speaker also focused on the proactive government-level contacts between the two countries. “The parliamentarians have kept pace with these efforts with their interparliamentary commissions formed by the Federation Council and the Senate of Kazakhstan, as well as the State Duma and the Mazhilis. These structures offer an effective operational framework. We are open to cooperation and will do everything we can to step it up,” Valentina Matvienko said.
She went on to emphasise that economic ties between the two countries were following an upward trajectory with increasing share of national currencies in mutual settlements. “We remain focused on region-to-region and cross-border cooperation. In fact, 76 of 89 Russian regions have established ties with Kazakhstan’s akimats and have built a positive track record in promoting them by holding regular bilateral inter-regional forums,” the Federation Council Speaker said, adding that the two countries must do even more in terms of exchanging business missions as an effective tool for expanding their ties. She went on to suggest holding events covering a wide range of avenues for region-to-region cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan and focused on promoting the regions’ trade, economic and cultural potential, such as the Days of Russian Regions Abroad and Days of Kazakhstan in Russian Regions.
The meeting’s agenda also covered cooperation within international platforms, primarily within the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly which offers a positive environment for exchanging legislative experience.
Valentina Matvienko continued by saying that as the current BRICS chair, Russia invites all the speakers of parliament from the CIS countries to take part in the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, which is scheduled to take place in an expanded format in St Petersburg in July 2024.
In his remarks, Yerlan Koshanov praised Russia-Kazakhstan relations for their high level in terms of bilateral cooperation and the friendly ties between the two countries. “Russia is our good neighbour, strategic ally and reliable partner,” he said.
He presented the priorities of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, and then talked about the country’s policy to promote the Russian language, including within the framework of the International Organisation for the Russian Language, which was created at the initiative of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Yerlan Koshanov also said that parliamentarians from Kazakhstan would join an international mission to act as observers during the presidential election in Russia.
Valentina Matvienko thanked Kazakhstan for helping with the election arrangements for Russians living in this country.
She also spoke about Kazakhstan’s consistent approach to studying and using Russian as a vehicular language. “Expert discussions on the initiatives by our respective presidents to build three Russian language schools in southern Kazakhstan have moved to the practical stage. If our experience in opening these schools in other countries is any guide, these efforts yield tangible results,” the Federation Council Speaker pointed out, adding that students from Kazakhstan will benefit from 200 additional grants to study at Russian universities this year.
Valentina Matvienko invited Kazakhstan’s delegation to contribute to and attend the upcoming 4th Eurasian Women’s Forum, to be held in St Petersburg on September 18–20, 2024.
Meeting attendees included First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council, Co-Chair of the Commission for Cooperation between the Federation Council and the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Andrey Yatskin, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Defence and Security Vladimir Bulavin, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Federal Structure, Regional Policy, Local Government and Northern Affairs Andrei Shevchenko, and Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Agriculture and Food Policy and Environmental Management Tatyana Gigel.