RIYADH —Sheikh Abdullah Al-Sheikh, speaker of the Shoura Council, and Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, held officials talks at the Council's headquarters in Riyadh on Monday. During the meeting, the speakers underscored the need to strengthen parliamentary cooperation between the two countries. Speaking on the occasion, Al-Sheikh highlighted the importance of opening new horizons for parliamentary cooperation to serve the two countries and their peoples. He noted that the mutual visits between officials of the two countries at various levels will further strengthen bilateral relations. During the discussion session with the Russian parliamentary delegation, Al-Sheikh briefed on the mechanism of work of the Shoura Council, the supervisory and legislative roles and the tasks it carries out within its powers. He also spoke about the Council's effective participation and presence in various international parliamentary gatherings and forums in order to enhance the Kingdom's position and highlighting its leadership at the regional and international levels. For his part, Volodin stressed the distinguished relations between the leaderships of the two friendly countries. He also called for developing parliamentary relations between the two sides in a way that will be reflected in the overall bilateral relations at various levels. During the discussion session, a number of topics of common interest between the two friendly countries as well as the ways to further strengthen parliamentary relations were discussed. The Russian speaker and the accompanying delegation witnessed the regular session of the Shoura Council. They toured various facilities of the Council, including the Great Hall and the Historical Museum. Al-Sheikh also held a luncheon banquet in honor of the Duma speaker. Those who attended the session also included Shoura Council's Deputy Speaker Dr. Mishal Al-Sulami, Assistant Speaker Dr. Hanan bint Abdul Rahim Al-Ahmadi, Secretary General Mr. Muhammad Al-Mutairi, Saudi Ambassador to the Russian Federation Abdul Rahman Al-Ahmad and a number of members of the Saudi-Russian Parliamentary Friendship Committee at the Shoura Council, as well as council members and officials. Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Duma Leonid Slutsky, Russian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sergey Kozlov, and a number of members and officials of the Russian Duma also attended the meeting.
