MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. The first Russia - Latin America parliamentary conference will begin in Moscow on Friday and will continue until October 2.
The inaugural conference will be held in the Russian capital on the initiative of the Russian parliament’s lower chamber, the State Duma. More than 200 participants are to take part, including parliamentarians from Latin America and the Caribbean, representatives of the expert community, public figures and diplomats. They will discuss with their Russian counterparts relevant issues on the international parliamentary agenda.
Welcoming delegations from Venezuela, Cuba and Chile at the chamber's plenary session on Thursday, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said more than half of Latin American countries have decided to participate. He added that "many bilateral meetings" would take place within the framework of the event, since a number of delegations are headed by parliamentary leaders.
The conference’s schedule includes a series of roundtables devoted to equal and mutually beneficial economic cooperation and development of humanitarian ties between Russia and Latin America. Participants of the conference will discuss the role of parliamentary diplomacy in creating a fair and equal multipolar world and in addressing security issues. The plenary session of the conference, headlined "Cooperation for a just world for all" will be held at the State Duma (the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions.