Opening the meeting, Gennady
Semigin
Gennady Yurievich
told about the current agenda of the State Duma Committee on Issues of Nationalities.
The Chairman of the Committee is convinced that the President of Russia, the Government and the parliamentarians share the opinion that interethnic harmony is multinational Russia’s fundamental pillar.
“This understanding unites the authorities and the opposition. We see that the geopolitical influence on this area of our society is mostly funded from abroad. That is why we are trying to strengthen, avoid and prevent any kind of conflicts, to solve practical issues in the multinational republics of our country,” said the Chairman.
“As parliamentarians, we follow closely the legislative agenda, so ethnocultural interests of our citizens should be reflected and protected by law: for example, we involve a wide range of experts, the ethnocultural community and representatives of the regions in the discussion of all initiatives,” stressed Gennady Semigin.
Gennady Semigin named the priority issues on the Committee’s agenda, such as language policy, ensuring the special rights of the indigenous peoples of the North region, as well as general issues of socio-economic development, improving living standards and quality of life of Russian citizens.
Kairat Abdrakhmanov expressed his gratitude for current Russia’s policy aimed at harmonization of interethnic relations, ensuring the ethnocultural rights of citizens in the country's educational policy, and provided support to the Russian language in the foreign states. “The experience of Russia is invaluable and should be widely disseminated on the territory of most of the OSCE member states,” stressed Kairat Abdrakhmanov.
The OSCE High Commissioner also expressed his readiness to cooperate actively at the OSCE parliamentary platforms. “Dialogue and exchange of best legislative practices can help in solving practical issues,” concluded Kairat Abdrakhmanov.
At the end of the meeting Gennady Semigin urged to continue joint work to disseminate best Russia’s practices in the field of interethnic relations. “We have all the prospects for cooperation and joint work,” concluded the Chairman of the Committee.
