THE FOREIGN SECRETARY MEETS WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERATION COUNCIL OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERAL ASSEMBLY

Foreign Secretary José Antonio Meade met with the President of Russia’s upper parliamentary house, Senator Valentina I. Matvienko, in the Foreign Ministry. The senator is in Mexico to hand over the Presidency of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum, whose 22nd meeting will be held in Puerto Vallarta from January 12 – 16, 2014. It will focus on strengthening the ties between the 27 member countries.

After thanking her for coming to Mexico, Foreign Secretary Meade mentioned President Putin’s invitation to President Peña Nieto to attend the next G20 Leaders Summit, which will be held in San Petersburg, Russia from September 5 – 6.

Foreign Secretary Meade said that Senator Matvienko’s visit to Mexico will contribute to strengthening parliamentary diplomacy. He applauded the agreement on cooperation between the Mexican Senate and the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly that was signed by the Presidents of the Mexican Senate and the Russian Federation Council and aims to improve the bilateral parliamentary relationship.

The two officials agreed that the dialogue between Mexico and Russia has reached an excellent level and they stressed the importance of continuing to promote high-level political contacts to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries. They also discussed the need to focus on the various cooperation schemes, and they both said they were ready to continue working to improve the bilateral legal framework.