Russian upper house speaker calls on BRICS parliament to exchange lawmaking experience

MOSCOW, June 8. /TASS/. Parliaments of the BRICS countries should develop cooperation in the area of harmonization of common principles in the information and humanitarian spheres, speaker of Russia’s upper parliament house, the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko said in an article "The BRICS: An Outline of a Fair World Order" dedicated to the first BRICS parliamentary forum opening in Moscow on Monday. She expressed confidence that the forum would "justify the hopes that are pinned on it, since its participants are not merely declaring their commitment to closer cooperation between the BRICS countries but also plan to take concrete steps to outline key areas and mechanisms of such cooperation that would help efficiently use the potential of parliaments." "We should use the potential of parliamentary cooperation not simply actively but also skillfully and thoughtfully," she underscored. "It is especially important in the sphere of legal regulation. The task of harmonization of national legislations will become topical for the BRICS countries very soon," so "it would be right to develop cooperation in this sphere already now" and for these purposes organize consultations and exchange experience, she noted. "Russia has such experience it has gained within the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)," she said. "This experience can be helpful within the BRICS." "The BRICS is not just an association of different states, but an amalgamation of different civilizations," Matviyenko said. "There are forces in the world which seek to ignite conflicts, mistrust in respect of other political formation, cultures and religions." She called on the BRICS parliaments "to pool efforts to elaborate common principles, approaches in the information, humanitarian and cultural policies." Cooperation in this sphere, according to Matvieynko "is important from the point of view of upbringing in the BRICS countries of the youth immune to xenophobia, religious and political extremism, and fascism who understand and share the ideas, goals and principles underlying the BRICS." The Federation Council "has vast experience in developing inter-parliamentary cooperation oriented towards young lawmakers, youth organizations," she said. "I think it will be useful in wording concrete proposals on the development of ties between the BRICS parliaments in the sphere of youth policy." Read more