Russia’s State Duma Chairman, Vyacheslav Volodin, has held a meeting with Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces of the Parliament of South Africa, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, during the delegation’s visit as part of steps to fortify bilateral parliamentary ties, while reviewing strategic plans to promote investment and economic cooperation. Relevant issues related to development of bilateral inter-parliamentary cooperation were discussed at the meeting in the month of July, 2026.
Volodin recalled that the Declaration, adopted at the Second Russia-Africa Summit in 2023 by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and leaders of African states, included the task to strengthen the inter-parliamentary cooperation. To build a good dialogue with other countries, Russia always relies on the “principles of friendship, non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states, and absence of double standards,” Volodin stressed with the South African delegation.
“By following the decisions of our leaders, we should do our best for the development of the inter-parliamentary cooperation, make our interaction more systematic to implement the interstate agreements, make our own contribution to strengthening of relations between our nations,” emphasized Volodin.
The Chairman of the State Duma added that the visit of Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane to Russia would give an additional impetus to the bilateral cooperation. “We will understand each other better, and we see your intention to develop relations, so, from our part, we will do the same,” he said.
“We highly value the history of our interaction, we do not forget that and use it as a foundation for political cooperation as well. We believe that trust and mutual understanding can help to protect and improve relations between our countries. And of course, Russia is one of those states that we can fully rely on,” emphasized the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces of the Parliament of South Africa. Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane also noted that the Republic of South Africa “is impressed by Russia’s achievements and that despite western sanctions, the economy and the country itself are developing.”
According to her, in order to enhance the partnership between the parliaments of the two states it is definitely necessary to work together, to exchange the current knowledge and experience to improve the economic interaction.
Further into sustaining Russia-Africa parliamentary relations, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, Alexander Babakov, also interacted with the delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Angola, noting precisely that, in recent years, Russia has devoted a lot of time to the development of relations with African countries, in particular with Angola, which has already led to practical results of strengthening friendship and solidarity.
First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs, Alexey Chepa, and member of the Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, Alexander Vorobyov, both also participated in the indepth discussions, underlining the basic fact that the Russia-Africa International Parliamentary Conference has given a new dynamic to relations with the parliaments of the continent’s countries. “The attitude to the formation of friendship groups has changed in the structure of the State Duma. We formed them with virtually all countries. And now we have a whole new quality of relationship,” Chepa stressed.
That it is, however, necessary to develop relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Angola at all levels: “If you look at the saturation of contacts, we have something to work on. Apart from friendship groups, we still have the format of interaction committees, they can work between each other online and offline–in any mode.”
In his turn, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Angola, Raul Augustu Lima, expressed readiness to comprehensively develop and strengthen friendly relations between the parliaments of the two countries. “Over the years, parliamentary cooperation has played a very important role in bringing our institutions closer together through dialogue, sharing experiences and knowledge in different areas. Parliaments of countries actively promote mutual understanding among peoples, create new opportunities for cooperation. Cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Angola and the State Duma of the Russian Federation has a very strong basis,” Raul Augustu Lima said in appreciable remarks. Angola and South Africa have been described as long-tested and trustful partners in Southern Africa.
