Duma speaker travelling to Seoul to take part in meeting of Eurasian countries’ parliament speakers

SEOUL, June 26. /TASS/. Speaker of Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) Vyacheslav Volodin is beginning an official two-day visit to South Korea on Monday during which he will take part in the Second Meeting of Parliament Speakers of Eurasian Countries. According the State Duma Public Relations Department, Volodin is to have two meetings in Seoul on Monday - with Speaker of the National Assembly of Korea Chung Sye-kyun and the heads of the parliaments taking part in the forum. On June 27, a meeting will be held that will focus on the "development of inter-parliamentary cooperation in the interests of common prosperity of the countries of the Eurasian region." The co-organizers of the event are Russia’s State Duma and the National Assembly of Korea. Vyacheslav Volodin and Chung Sye-kyun will chair the plenary sessions. Taking part in the meeting will be representatives of 26 countries, including for the first time from the EU member-countries - the Czech Republic, Slovakia (at the level of speakers) and Hungary. Among the participants are also heads of legislative bodies of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and the Philippines. Parliamentarians from Belarus, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, China, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Turkmenistan and Thailand have arrived at the forum as well. The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will be represented by Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Tigran Sargsyan. "A rather substantial resolution will be passed after the meeting," member of the Russian delegation and head of Russia’s State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Kalashnikov told reporters. He noted that the document had been discussed in advance, and there have been many amendments to it from national delegations. The most important thing is that, despite all the sanctions (against Russia imposed by some countries) here we see a dramatic increase in the number of participants (compared to the first meeting)," the parliamentarian emphasized. He noted that it is planned to make the forum "a body that will work not only from one meeting to another but where working groups will be active between the forums, which will, among other things, prepare final documents." Results of first meeting The first Meeting of Parliament Speakers of Eurasian Countries was held in Moscow on April 19, 2016. Its participants adopted a statement, in which they strongly condemned international terrorism and pledged to join forces in the fight against this threat to the international community. The document also pointed to the growing importance of Eurasia for global trade and economy, as well as the pole for shaping a harmonious world based on the right of each nation to achieve sustainable social and cultural development. Read more