Russia’s top MP meets Algerian leader
Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin has met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during a visit to the African country, during which he also met the speaker of the People’s National Assembly, Brahim Boughali, the State Duma press service reported.
The senior lawmaker's visit included talks on inter-parliamentary relations, as well as trade and broader regional issues faced by Algiers.
“Last year, trade volume grew by 2.2 times, reaching $3.765 billion by the end of 2023,” Volodin said following a meeting with Boughali. “This is a significant growth in our foreign economic relations, and it is extremely important for us to develop inter-parliamentary connections.”
Volodin underscored the importance of implementing a strategic agreement between Russia and Algeria. “Today, our relations are built thanks to our heads state,” the Russian lawmaker said, referring to the strategic partnership agreement signed during Algerian President Tebboune’s visit to Moscow in June of last year.
“It is crucial for us to legislatively support the implementation of this agreement and to contribute by establishing systematic work using new formats that yield positive results. We observe this in our work with other countries,” Volodin added.
Boughali noted the strengthening of bilateral relations, as reflected by the Algerian president’s visit to Moscow and emphasized the importance of talks on the future of Palestine. “We have historical ties that began immediately after our country’s independence. We strive to develop cooperation in economic, cultural, and scientific fields. We are engaged in dialogue on various issues,” he added.
According to Volodin, Russian MPs and their Algerian counterparts have agreed that a delegation led by Boughali will visit Russia in the near future.
In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that Algeria had applied to become a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). One month earlier, Algiers and Moscow signed a cooperation agreement to combat transnational organized crime, terrorism, extremism, and corruption.
