The first joint meeting of the foreign policy parliamentary committees of Russia and Italy – the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and the EU Commission on Foreign Affairs and Issues of the House of Representatives of the Italian Republic, took place.
One of the topics on the agenda was the fight against COVID-19. All the Italian speakers expressed their gratitude to Russia for its assistance in the spring of this year. Back then in the midst of the first wave of the pandemic, Russian planes with military virologists arrived in the Apennins to save lives of Italian citizens. But this, of course, is not the end of it. We must continue to cooperate in the field of global health in general. Russia has become the first country to develop a coronavirus vaccine. And it is ready to develop cooperation in this direction with other countries, including Italy.
Other issues on the agenda were the following: the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation, the fight against terrorism, the situation in Syria and Libya, the impact of the possible results of the US presidential election on the European and Middle East tracks and the consequences of sanctions policy. In short, there was a fruitful and constructive dialogue across the bilateral and international agenda. The parties decided to continue cooperation on a regular basis. Parliamentarians of Russia and Italy will contribute to the development of the historic partnership and cooperation between the countries.
Communiqué of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and the Commission on Foreign Affairs and EU Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic
November 17, 2020
November 17 this year a video conference of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and the Commission on Foreign Affairs and EU Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic took place.
Within the framework of the meeting, issues of the development of Russian-Italian inter-parliamentary cooperation, including in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and the holding of the next meeting of the Large Russian-Italian inter-parliamentary commission were discussed. An exchange of views took place on topical issues on the international agenda.
The videoconference was opened with introductory remarks by the Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky and Chairman of the Commission on Foreign Affairs and EU Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic P.Fassino.
The deputies of both countries in their speeches noted the importance of developing parliamentary diplomacy tools to strengthen bilateral relations and converge positions on global health, strategic stability and security, the fight against international terrorism, and economic cooperation.
The parliamentarians of Russia and Italy noted the coincidence of interests on key issues on the international agenda and stressed the need to deepen cooperation in various areas, including culture, education, and the scientific and technical sphere.
Following the videoconference, the Chairpersons of the Committee and the Commission confirmed their readiness to continue the practice of regular joint meetings and maintain contacts.
