National Assembly Speaker Maja Gojkovic stressed how pleased she was by the Second session of the Russian State Duma - National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Cooperation Commission which is a continuation of the cooperation and dialogue between the two parliaments launched by the establishment of the Commission in Moscow, in December 2015. “The Commission has proven itself to be an important platform for the exchange of opinions on the most important issues between the two parliaments and a significant engine of parliamentary cooperation”, said Speaker Gojkovic.

She said that the Second session will be focusing on important issues such as interparliamentary cooperation, the parliamentarians’ contribution to issues of regional stability and security in bilateral and multilateral forums, Kosovo-Metohija and the role of the international community in supporting dialogue, parliamentary support to economic, trade and cultural cooperation.

Besides the extensive interparliamentary dialogue between the National Assembly and the State Duma, Speaker Gojkovic said that the cooperation between the two parliaments is excellent at the multilateral level in international organizations.

The Speaker also said that economic cooperation is an important part of the two states’ bilateral relations and that the economic relations are following an upward trend seeing how the Russian Federation is one of Serbia’s chief strategic partners and investors. There is potential to deepen relations in the spheres of agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, energy and loan/financial cooperation, said Maja Gojkovic. She also drew attention to the two countries’ rich cultural cooperation.

The National Assembly Speaker thanked the Russian Federation for its principled stance on and respect of Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and for its support of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

Speaking of stability and security, Speaker Gojkovic said that the Republic of Serbia is committed to regional cooperation and good-neighbourly relations, in which it has the support of the Russian Federation. The Republic of Serbia is also dedicated to cooperation in combating the global threats of terrorism, extremism and radicalism, and facing the challenges of the migrant crisis.

European integration is Serbia’s foreign policy priority, with the maintenance of good bilateral relations and cooperation with traditional friends and partners, stressed Maja Gojkovic.

Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that this format of interparliamentary cooperation contributes to the dialogue between Serbia and Russia, and that the cooperation between the Russian and Serbian parliamentarians contributes to the realization of the strategic partnership declaration signed by the two presidents in 2013 in Sochi.

In addition to interparliamentary cooperation, at the session the Commission also deliberated on the important issues of security, combating terrorism, extremism and illegal migration, said Volodin stressing that terrorism as a global threat requires a unified response.

The State Duma Speaker said that history unites the two states and nations and the Russian State Duma - National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Cooperation Commission should help strengthen this relationship.