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Upper house speaker to meet with Serbia’s leaders, address Serbian parliament

During the visit, it is planned to discuss bilateral issues, the situation in the region and the development of contacts between the two countries’ parliaments

MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/. A delegation of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament) led by its Speaker, Valentina Matviyenko, will pay an official visit to Serbia on November 20-21, during which she will meet with the country’s top officials and address the plenary session of the National Assembly, the Federation Council press service told reporters.

"The Federation Council’s delegation led by its Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko will pay an official visit to Serbia on November 20-21. During the visit, the Federation Council speaker is expected to meet with the country’s leadership and hold talks with Serbian National Assembly Chairperson, Maja Gojkovic. The head of the Federation Council will also address the plenary meeting of the Serbian parliament," the press service said.

During the visit, it is planned to discuss bilateral issues, the situation in the region, the development of contacts between the two countries’ parliaments and efforts to strengthen inter-regional ties. "Russia and Serbia have traditionally strong inter-parliamentary ties. The ‘friendship groups’ are working, and parliamentary cooperation continues both on the bilateral basis and on international platforms," the press service quotes Matviyenko as saying.

According to the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, it is necessary to use this potential for expanding the Russian-Serbian cooperation and implement projects on the ground. "The development of inter-regional ties is another very important area. We are planning to discuss specific proposals on that score with our Serbian counterparts," Matviyenko noted.

During the visit, the speaker will talk with Serbian lawmakers, experts, journalists and members of non-governmental organizations.

The delegation includes Federation Council Vice Speaker Ilyas Umakhanov, head of the International Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev and his deputy Alexander Babakov and Chairman of the Social Policy Committee Valery Ryazansky.

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