New Delhi, Apr 2 (PTI) A parliamentary delegation led by First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of Russia, Vladimir Yakushev, called on Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh who underlined that India and Russia share a tradition of rich and fruitful exchanges at the parliamentary level.
Welcoming the delegation, Harivansh expressed his pleasure on Yakushev’s first visit to India and noted that his appointment as the Head of the Friendship Group of the Federation Council for cooperation with Rajya Sabha signifies the high-priority that Russia places on parliamentary cooperation with India.
He highlighted that the bilateral cooperation continues to expand across political, strategic, economic, and cultural domains.
Recalling recent interactions, Harivansh noted that Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin visited India in February 2025.
He also referred to the visit of an all-party parliamentary delegation led by Kanimozhi Karunanidhi to Russia in May 2025 in the context of the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s Operation Sindoor, and expressed gratitude for Russia’s support to the joint resolve in countering terrorism.
He emphasized that the visit of the present delegation would further strengthen parliamentary cooperation and contribute to the growing engagement between the two countries, noting that bilateral interactions have been progressing in an encouraging manner.
Highlighting bilateral cooperation, he stated that trade and economic cooperation continues to be an important pillar of the relationship.
The Rajya Sabha deputy chairman further stated that both sides remain hopeful that the goal of 100 billion US dollars worth of annual bilateral trade by 2030 will be achieved.
Highlighting cultural linkages, Harivansh noted that the exposition of Sacred Relics of Shakyamuni Buddha from the National Museum of India in Kalmykia region in October saw an unprecedented response from the Kalmyk people, stating that this is testament to the close old historical cultural linkages between the two countries.
He also stated that India and Russia enjoy vibrant ties in the multilateral domain, with substantial cooperation in the United Nations, G20, BRICS and SCO formats.
He noted that India holds the chairmanship of BRICS this year and appreciated Russia’s support to India’s BRICS presidency, expressing that India looks forward to welcoming Russian delegations for various BRICS meetings in India, especially for the BRICS Parliamentary Forum.
Emphasizing parliamentary cooperation, Harivansh said the level of cooperation between the Parliaments of both countries has been very good. He said that the India-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group has been constituted in February 2026, expressing hope that the new co-chairs and members from both sides will meet soon to resume fruitful exchanges.
The deputy chairman also emphasized that both sides can look at working towards greater engagement between young and women parliamentarians, that would go a long way in strengthening bilateral ties.
Concluding the meeting, he stated that India and Russia must continue their efforts to strengthen parliamentary cooperation and further deepen their multifaceted partnership. PTI SKC SKC KVK KVK
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