A parliamentary delegation led by the Hon. Karu Jayasuriya, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka paid an official visit to St. Petersburg, Russia to participate in the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, held from 14-18, October 2017.
The Sri Lankan delegation also included Hon. Thalatha Atukorale, Minister of Foreign Employment and Minister of Justice, Hon. Lakshman Senewiratne, State Minister of Science, Technology and Research, Hon. Mavai S. Senathirajah, Member of Parliament, Mr. Dhammika Dasanayake, Secretary-General of Parliament, and the Chief of Protocol of the Parliament Mr. Upali Kumarasinghe. The delegation was also joined by His Excellency Dr. Saman Weerasinghe, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia and Mr. Dulmith Waruna, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Russia.
The opening ceremony of the 137th IPU Assembly was presided over by the President of Russia His Excellency Vladimir Putin and the Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Hon. Valentina Matviyenko who addressed more than 100 chairpersons of foreign Parliaments who attended the Assembly. The total number of registered participants of the Assembly had exceeded 2300.
During his official visit to St. Petersburg the speaker conducted a series of high level discussions with representatives of Russian state authorities.
One of the key meetings was held with the Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Hon. Evgeniy Bushmin, during which both Sri Lankan and Russian delegations highlighted that this year the two countries celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. It was noted that currently Sri Lanka and Russia are at the stage of active enhancement of cooperation in many sectors and both parties concluded that it should further expand into humanitarian and cultural areas.
On October 14, 2017 the Sri Lankan delegation met with the Vice Governor of St. Petersburg Hon. Vladimir Kirillov. In the course of the conversation, Hon. Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka highlighted the plans of the Sri Lankan Government to double the trade turnover between Sri Lanka and Russia. One of the promising areas of long-term cooperation, according to the parties, was the development of the tourism sector. "Undoubtedly, the launch of a regular all-the-year-round air service will help greatly strengthen our contacts," said the Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg. This opinion was supported by representatives of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Russian Federation
23 October 2017
