New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS) Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia, Vyacheslav Volodin, paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in New Delhi on Sunday.
Taking to social media platform X, the Russian Embassy in India posted: “On October 25, Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin arrived at the Raj Ghat Memorial Complex to pay tribute to the leader of India’s national liberation movement Mahatma Gandhi and lay a wreath at his memorial.”
Volodin currently is on an official visit to India to attend the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, set to be hosted by the Parliament of India at the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan in New Delhi on October 26–27. Held under India’s chairship, the forum will bring together parliamentary leaders from BRICS member and partner countries to deliberate on people-centric development and strengthen parliamentary cooperation.
Earlier on Thursday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced that the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum will be held in New Delhi on October 26–27.
Addressing a press conference at Parliament House on Thursday, Birla said that the Forum marks a new chapter in the history of India’s parliamentary diplomacy. It will bring together Presiding Officers and parliamentary leaders from BRICS member and partner countries, Union Ministers, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh, Presiding Officers of State Legislatures, Members of Parliament and other dignitaries.
The Lok Sabha Speaker said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would attend the event and meet the leaders of the visiting delegations.
The Forum would feature bilateral and multilateral interactions with the leaders of visiting delegations and parliamentary friendship groups, he added. A meeting of the Secretaries of the delegations will be held on October 25 to finalise the Joint Statement of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum.
“So far, suggestions have been received from 18 countries, and discussions will take place accordingly. India has launched a new initiative and has established Parliamentary Friendship Groups with 64 countries. This is the first time such a major effort has been undertaken, although attempts were made in the past. We are continuously expanding these Parliamentary Friendship Groups in countries where parliamentary friendship forums between India and those countries already exist,” Birla said.
On October 3, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar reiterated India’s continued support for dialogue and diplomacy to help end the Ukraine conflict, while chairing a consultative committee meeting on India-Russia relations.
The meeting reviewed wide-ranging bilateral engagement between India and Russia across several sectors, including trade, investment, energy, connectivity, culture and people-to-people (P2P) ties.
In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar said: “Chaired a consultative committee meeting on India – Russia relations. Highlighted various aspects of our multifaceted engagement, including in trade, investments, energy, connectivity, culture and P2P domains. As well as our active support to dialogue and diplomacy to end the Ukraine conflict.”
–IANS
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