Upper House Speaker, Russian Deputy Speaker review bilateral issues

Addis Ababa, October 27, 2023 (FBC) – The FDRE House of Federation (HoF) Speaker, Mr. Agegnehu Teshager held a discussion on bilateral issues with the Deputy Speaker of Federation Council of Russia, Inna Svyatenko, on the sidelines of the 147th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) assembly in Luanda, Angola.

During the discussion, Speaker Agegnehu mentioned that the relations between the two countries is historical and goes back more than a century.

The Ethiopia-Russia relation has grown stronger during these times, and the ways to further strengthen it in the future should be expanded, according to him. On behalf of the people and government of Ethiopia, Mr. Agegnehu thanked Russia for standing by his country during challenging times in the past years.

He also recalled that the second Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg last July has raised the relations between the two countries to a higher level. The Speaker further thanked Russia for its support for Ethiopia to become a member of BRICS and emphasized that in the future, concrete changes should be brought about by working together.

The Deputy Speaker of the Council of the Russian Federation, Ms. Inna Svyatenko, reminded that the relation between Ethiopia and the Russian Federation is historic and is getting stronger by the time. She said that the government and people of Russia are happy that Ethiopia has joined the BRICS family and assured that her country will continue to work with Ethiopia in all fields for mutual benefit.

The Deputy Speaker also reaffirmed that her country supports Ethiopia’s comprehensive efforts to resolve its internal challenges through peace and dialogue.

Finally, the two dignitaries discussed on scenarios for the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2023 between the Houses of Federation of the two countries.