22 October 2015 - The heads of the Upper Chambers of the Philippine and Russian legislatures met on October 20 and reiterated their commitment to work closely together to further strengthen economic, cultural, humanitarian and other ties between the two countries.
This commitment was made when Philippine Senate President Franklin M. Drilon met with Mme. Valentina I. Metvienko, Chairperson of the Federation Council, Federal Assembly of Russia.
During the meeting, the Senate President also thanked Mme. Matvienko for Russia’s continuing interest in the West Philippine Sea. He noted that Russia’s support for the peaceful settlement of international disputes is consistent with, and supports, our principled position that the West Philippine Sea dispute should be settled according to rule of law, particularly the UNCLOS.
For the efforts of the Philippines to resolve the situation in the West Philippine Sea through peaceful means and in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The Senate President is in Russia on the invitation of Mme. Valentina I. Metvienko, and to meet several high Russian officials as well as speak before the Plenary Session of the Federal Council. Mme. Metvienko invited the Senate President to visit Russia when she visited Manila last November as his guest.
To highlight the importance of this continued engagement, the Senate President told Mme. Matvienko that he was glad to be in Moscow “to continue the productive discussions we started in Manila last year.”
He also pointed out that since the visit of Mme. Matvienko “a number of initiatives between our two countries have taken off – most notably the signing of a new Air Services Agreements last July.” The Senator added “business delegation visits have also taken place signifying the strong interest of our business sectors to engage each other. These augurs well for the future of our economic relations.”
The Senate President also told Mme. Matvienko that “there is indeed strong momentum for the development of our bilateral ties as we celebrate 40 years of friendship and cooperation next year.”
During the meeting, he also emphasize that “the upcoming meeting between President Benigno S. Aquino III and President Vladimir Putin in November this year at the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Manila will not only be historic but will also give a big boost to our relations.”
The two parliamentary leaders also discussed the possibility of negotiating and concluding key bilateral agreements, from consular protection, to humanitarian cooperation, to trade and investment enhancement, to fighting transnational crimes, including terrorism, to defense and security cooperation, among others.
They also expressed a keen desire to intensify people-to-people exchanges in the fields of education, culture and the arts, and tourism, among others. According to the Senate President “we need to strengthen our linkages at the people-to-people level if we are to succeed in building a strong, dynamic, and multi-faceted relationship responsive to the needs of the 21st century.”
In this context, Senate President Drilon told Mme. Matvienko “I am privileged to have you – a dedicated legislator and leader, as a partner in this task.” He also thanked her for “the distinct honor of addressing the Council of Federation.
The Federal Assembly is the national legislature of Russia. It is composed of the Federal Council (Upper House) and the State Duma (Lower House). The Federal Council, which is chaired by Mme. Matvienko, The Chairman of the Federation Council is the third important position after the President and the Prime Minister. In the case of incapacity of the President and the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the upper house of the Russian parliament becomes Acting President of Russia. END
