The Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich
The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast)
held a meeting with the President of the Transitional Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Burkina Faso Ousmane
Bougouma on the sidelines of the Second International Parliamentary Conference
“Russia-Africa”.
“We have reached an agreement to create a working group and that was a proposal of our colleagues. Maybe then we will reach a decision of signing an agreement between our parliaments,” Vyacheslav Volodin said after the meeting.
According to him, there may be created a bilateral working commission “for discussions and development of solutions that concern our countries.”
Ousmane Bougouma noted the issue of ensuring security as a priority for Burkina Faso in developing relations with Russia. “Our country is suffering a lot from terrorism, so Russia’s support, including logistical support and other different support, is extremely important for us,” he said.
“Our people have made a completely clear and obvious choice: we want not only to diversify our international partnership, but also to strengthen cooperation with Russia. This is not a short-term phenomenon, this is a long-term and confident choice — partnership with Russia,” emphasized the President of the Transitional Legislative Assembly of Burkina Faso.
According to him, it is very important for Burkina Faso that Russia “very deeply respects the culture of other countries” and builds its relations on the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.
“Our historical counterpart France, unfortunately, did not meet our expectations, and we really do not want history to repeat itself. Therefore, we really hope that our cooperation with Russia will be successful for us,” added Ousmane Bougouma.
Vyacheslav Volodin noted the fact that Russia not only shared the principles of protecting sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, but was also trying to “convince other countries that the world order should be fair and the world should be multipolar.”
“If we are talking about the development of our states, only those that maintain their independence and protect their sovereignty have prospects,” emphasized the Chairman of the State Duma.
Vyacheslav Volodin invited the President of the Transitional Legislative Assembly of Burkina Faso to pay an official visit to Russia. He accepted the invitation and also invited the Russian delegation to pay an official visit to Burkina Faso.
The Chairman of the State Duma expressed his gratitude for the invitation to visit the Republic. “We hope that our meetings will be more regular. During them, we could not only understand each other better, but also make decisions aimed at development of relations between our countries,” added Vyacheslav Volodin.
Earlier, the Chairman of the State Duma met with the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Parliament of South Africa Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Zimbabwe Jacob Mudenda, the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Congo Pierre Ngolo, the President of the National Transitional Council of the Republic of Mali Malick Diaw and the President of the National Assembly of the Central African Republic Simplice Mathieu Sarandji.
On 19–20 March 2023, the State Duma hosts the Second International Parliamentary Conference “Russia – Africa” in Moscow.
More than 40 official parliamentary delegations from almost all African countries will take part in the Conference. Representatives of the scientific, educational and expert communities from Russia and African countries, members of the State Duma, federal executive authorities, senators of the Federation Council, chairmen of the legislative bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, representatives of the business community will also take part in the events of the Conference.
The objectives of the Conference are to strengthen parliamentary cooperation with African countries in the conditions of formation of a multipolar world, to develop relations and develop common approaches to legal regulation in the economy, science and education and security.
On March 19, on the first day of the Conference, there will be held the following round tables:
On March 19, there will be also held a business breakfast with participation of the parliamentary delegations of African states and Russian business representatives.
On March 20, there will be held a plenary session of the International Parliamentary Conference entitled “Russia-Africa in the multipolar world”.
As part of the events of the Conference, the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin will hold bilateral meetings with several heads of delegations, speakers of parliaments and chambers of parliaments of African countries.
The Conference is planned to be held just few months before the Second Russia-Africa Summit, which is planned to be held on July 2023 in Saint Petersburg.
The First International Conference “Russia – Africa” was held in Moscow in 2019.
