RIYADH, February 26. /TASS/. Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin while on an official visit to Saudi Arabia proposed to Saudi Consultative Council Chairman Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Ash Sheikh that Moscow and Riyadh sign an interparliamentary agreement, the head of the lower house of Russia’s parliament said at a meeting of the Consultative Council, where Saudi parliamentarians welcomed the Russian delegation as guests.
"An agreement between the State Duma and the Consultative Council could be signed during your visit to Russia," Volodin suggested during his meeting with Al Ash Sheikh.
Volodin and the Duma delegation arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday. This is the Duma speaker’s first visit to Saudi Arabia. He also proposed intensifying contacts at the level of specialized committees of the two country’s respective parliaments.
The Russian delegation also includes State Duma Deputy Speaker Alexander Babakov; the chairpersons of key Duma committees, including Leonid Slutsky (International Affairs Committee), Vladimir Kashin (Agrarian Issues Committee), Andrey Makarov (Budget Committee), Pavel Zavalny (Energy Committee), Olga Timofeeva (Committee on Development of Civil Society), Vladimir Gutenyev (Industry and Trade Committee) and Sangadzhi Tarbayev (Tourism Committee); the first deputy chairpersons of several committees, including Shamsail Saraliev (International Affairs Committee), Gleb Khor (Budget Committee), and Nadezhda Shkolkina (Economic Policy Committee); Vladimir Ivanov, a member of the Duma Trade Committee; and Evgeny Primakov, head of Russia’s agency for international humanitarian cooperation.