Russia calls for enabling laws to fully tap India-Russia cooperation potential
11 Dec 2018
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India and Russia should strive to institutionalise their bilateral cooperation in various spheres through enabling legislation to fully tap the immense potential of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, chairman of the `Duma’ of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, said during a meeting with vice president M Venkaiah Naidu.
Volodin, who is heading a 30-member high-level Russian parliamentary delegation on Monday called on vice president and chairman of the Rajya Sabha, M Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi and held wide ranging discussions on bilateral ties.
During the 40-minute meeting, both the sides fondly recalled the traditional bonds of friendship between the two counties and the need to further intensify cooperation in the present world order. The chairman of the Duma stressed on the need for enhancing parliamentary exchanges between the two countries to enable necessary legislative framework to fully harness the potential of India-Russia ties in various sectors. He urged the committees of the parliaments of both the countries to be more proactive in this regard.
“There is a need to further build up on the traditional friendship between the two countries for mutual advantage in the fields of economy, human development and cultural cooperation,” he said.
Referring to the immense opportunities in the fields of tourism and medical education, Volodin called for addressing bureaucratic delays. He further said that while bilateral trade increased by about 21 per cent last year, there is scope to go much beyond.
Referring to the ‘special and privileged’ relationship and positive engagement between the two countries in various multilateral forums, Venkaiah Naidu said the convergence of views between India and Russia on various international and multilateral matters need to be taken forward through parliamentary exchanges.
Venkaiah Naidu recalled the positivism in India about India-Russia ties since his student days.
Naidu referred to ‘the menace of terrorism’ threatening the socio-economic fabric across the world and called for increased global cooperation against it. Responding to Naidu’s concern, the visiting dignitary said that Russia can cooperate with India with its ‘wealth of experience in counter terrorism activities’.
Volodin said the India-Russia Parliamentary Commission at its 5th meeting being held in New Delhi would address specific issues concerning bilateral cooperation.
The 30-member visiting Russian parliamentary delegation consisted of First Deputy Chairman and Deputy Chairman of ‘Duma’ and chairpersons of 10 committees of ‘Duma’, including on defence, internal affairs, international affairs, financial markets, economic policy, enquiry, health, security and corruption control.
