BRICS Parliamentary Forum

Valentina Matviyenko: Mr Naryshkin, parliamentary speakers, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen and dear friends. I'm glad to welcome you to Moscow.

Today is a remarkable day. The first BRICS Parliamentary Forum is starting its work. I'd like to sincerely congratulate all of you on this historical event in the life of our parliaments, countries and people. We are witnessing the birth of a new parliamentary association, a new parliamentary venue for dialogue and cooperation.

Allow me to read a message from President Vladimir Putin to the participants and guests of the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum.

"To the participants and guests of the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum. Dear friends, please accept my heartfelt greetings on the opening of the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum. Multilateral dialogue between lawmakers is an important and timely step in the development of BRICS, an association of five major influential countries. Your forum is opening an entirely new dimension in the activities of the Five and is substantially expanding its opportunities by involving representatives of different political parties, public organisations and expert communities. This is particularly important given the current complex nature of many issues of international relations, which requires a concerted effort on the part of governments and the civil society. I am confident that MPs will make a tangible contribution to resolving large-scale tasks facing BRICS, and will actively promote the buildup and diversification of partnership between our countries on the global and regional agenda. I sincerely wish you productive work. All the best. Vladimir Putin."

Dear colleagues, today's meeting has become possible thanks to the political will of our leaders and the dynamic development of BRICS. It reflects the spirit of genuine partnership that reigns supreme among the Five.

Our meeting is taking place in the year of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the establishment of the United Nations. This coincidence is highly symbolic and predetermines the main areas of our forum's work as a key collective player in global politics. First and foremost, I am referring to the major issues of ensuring international peace and security on the basis of supremacy of international law and the central role of the UN. There is every reason to say that today BRICS has become a very important factor in international development and the resolution of global issues.

Let's start discussing the items on the agenda of our first session. We are set to review a wide range of problems pertaining to the role of our parliaments in the world's policy and economy and the prospects of cooperation between the BRICS parliaments.

All heads of delegations will speak today. We have agreed on the rules and procedures in advance. Please allow me to give the floor to State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin. Mr Naryshkin, go ahead please.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you, Ms Matviyenko.

Ladies and gentleman, colleagues. I wish you a warm welcome at the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum. Without exaggeration, the event is a significant landmark, because, starting today, the legislative bodies of our states have fully entered into the dialogue and the development of BRICS as one of the world's most promising associations. Cooperation at the parliamentary level is necessary for effective resolution of global political and economic issues. This year, on the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, we must do everything we can to restore the supremacy of law in international relations and the efficiency of international institutions.

Unfortunately, our latest experience of cooperation with European organisations shows that in emergency situations they may fail. Due to their inaction, double standards and inconsistency in evaluation, occasional lack of professionalism and political prejudice of their management, the quality of the entire international legal system has declined. This was obvious in the case of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which was unable to provide any assistance to the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis due to its bias, causing a disservice to international law and damaging its own authority. We have and will continue to believe that these organisations must seek actual reforms and act together against dishonest international bureaucracy.

We are also able to see that a liberal interpretation of the United Nations Charter and substitution of the UN Security Council's decisions - as was the case with resolutions on Kosovo and Libya and which is now happening with resolutions in support of the Minsk Agreements on Ukraine - is favourable to those who are trying to monopolise the decision-making process and subdue economic cooperation to the political climate, and who are trying to promote their unipolar concept of the world through ideological conflicts. This concept goes beyond security interests, the law and even common sense. Speaking of which, while this is happening, the United States is negotiating global agreements behind the scenes, agreements on Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic trade partnerships, bypassing us and many other states, members of the World Trade Organisation. Basically, some new rules are being developed that may potentially influence global trade, divide markets and change the current balance of competition.

I believe that the parliamentary dimension of BRICS will open new opportunities for an honest international dialogue and will help provide a relevant response to modern challenges. The parliaments of our states support the existing cooperation mechanisms and, unlike our opponents, remember the lessons of history and are trying to preserve institutions, including those created as a result of WWII.

Moreover, thanks to BRICS initiatives there has been a tangible progress in reforming the international financial and currency system, as well as protection of national markets in the event of global crisis. The entire world needs new trade and investment prospects right now, to bring about industrial growth and high technology development. I am certain that the launch of the New Development Bank and BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, will accelerate these processes. For its part, Russia ratified the BRICS Bank establishment agreement last February. We also ratified the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement.

Сolleagues, our forum is being held in the year of the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazism. Peoples in dozens of countries went through the ordeal of WWII. Heads of the BRICS countries were in Moscow on Red Square on 9 May, participating in the celebrations dedicated to this great anniversary, underscoring their determination to defend international peace. This is especially important now when, under the pressure of odious political forces, world history is being falsified and refashioned, and the decisive contribution of the Red Army to the defeat of Nazism is consistently downplayed. We must save the world from the resurgence of any ideology based on exceptionalism, such as Nazism, racism, anti-Semitism or xenophobia. The political will of our countries to resist such attempts has always enjoyed strong support with their respective parliaments.

Our countries share approaches to resolving regional conflicts and are united in their fight against terrorism and the drug threat. Any and all actions, including counterterrorism, must be based on international law. The events in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the continuing escalation of the Ukraine conflict in the heart of the European continent give us plenty of food for thought.

As is known, the BRICS is not bound by rigid bloc discipline, unlike other international organisations, and especially military-political alliances, which were not able to ensure the stability of the world, and in some cases significantly undermined it with their actions in different regions of the world. We believe that the current circumstances require not only our common attention to such important topics for the entire world, but also call for intensifying parliamentary contacts and, ultimately, converting the dialogue-based forum into a full-fledged mechanism for cooperation on key issues of international politics and economy. In this regard, I would suggest that we start thinking about creating a permanent contact group within the BRICS Parliamentary Forum that would include authoritative experts from our respective countries. This can help develop a long-term strategy for our association, which was recently discussed by the participants of the BRICS Academic Forum.

Colleagues, BRICS is based on shared views on financial and economic issues. The list of our priorities has expanded, because for the polycentric international system to function properly it is critical to have dialogue on many issues, including dialogue between different cultures and civilisations. Indeed, the very existence of BRICS is the result of globalisation, which has strengthened more than just the economic interdependence of countries located on different continents. Now, more than ever, the demand for parliamentary assistance in promoting cooperation in the sphere of culture and research, education and healthcare, environmental protection and sport will grow, with a focus on contacts between youth, that is, those to whom the future belongs. I'm convinced that the results of the forum will meet our expectations and will become an important contribution to preparations for the July meeting of the leaders of the BRICS countries in Ufa.

Colleagues and friends, we are elected representatives of our peoples, and the world must hear our common voice - the voice of Brazil, India, China, South Africa and Russia. We will come up with a coordinated position that promotes peace, democracy and our economies, and increases the well-being and prosperity of our countries in order to oppose the kind of arrogance and propaganda that are unacceptable to us. Thank you.

Valentina Matviyenko: Thank you, Mr Naryshkin. I suggest the floor be given to the President of the Senate of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Please, Mr Renan Calheiros.

Renan Calheiros (via interpreter): I would like to greet the distinguished Chairperson of the Federation Council, Ms Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin; Eduardo Cunha, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, on whose behalf I am greeting all the members of our delegation, deputies and senators; distinguished representatives of the BRICS parliaments; ministers, ambassadors, representatives of the Russian Government.

First of all, I would like to say thank you to the organising team, our hosts and all the participants of this forum that is now taking place in the historical and very beautiful city of Moscow. I would like to express my deep appreciation. At this important event, I represent the Senate of Brazil along with Deputy Eduardo Cunha, who represents the Chamber of Deputies.

Since the mid-20th century, decisions concerning the global agenda have grown increasingly important and are influencing processes inside countries. As globalisation and regional integration continue, the number of issues affecting every single citizen is growing. They are also influenced by the decision-making at the national and international levels.

Back then, deputies and parliamentary representatives began attaching special importance to international relations. These days, the participation of legislators in regional and international organisations is more evident - for example there is the MERCOSUR parliament, and the Andean Community parliament. We can also mention parliamentary assemblies established under the umbrella of important international organisations, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union seated in Geneva.

In this context, there is a suggestion to develop an agenda and expand the parliamentary cooperation between the BRICS countries. We believe this proposal is natural and quite reasonable. Brazil is proud of its stable parliamentary institutions and successful cooperation between the two branches of power.

Allow me to briefly mention the events that helped make this initiative possible. The inter-parliamentary dialogue within BRICS dates back to 2011 when Brazil initiated a meeting of parliamentary representatives from our countries at the second meeting of G20. In a joint declaration, the representatives decided to establish a permanent advisory forum that served as a framework for sharing experience, improving legislative activity and, of course, introducing agreements into respective legal systems.

It is very important to promote this initiative because it has all the prerequisites for success.

The BRICS forum, bringing together representatives of major political forces, is designed to become an important channel for cooperation between different agencies, elements of civil society and government officials of our countries. BRICS will ensure that there is an international dialogue between them. The forum will become a venue for discussing the most important issues and an important basis for our governments' decisions on vital global issues.

As noted in the document distributed by Russia's representatives, it is important to intensify dialogue between civilisations, and in this respect BRICS carries substantial cultural resources. It is hard even to imagine a better venue for such dialogue. It is also important for our five parliaments to express their views on implementing relevant agreements and introducing them into the legal system. The National Congress of Brazil was pleased to support our efforts. The positions of the head of the Chamber of Deputies and the head of the Senate made it possible to adopt two documents - the agreements on the New Development Bank and the Contingency Reserve Arrangement that were signed in Fortaleza last year. I hope we'll continue working actively on other instruments envisaged by other documents adopted at this event.

I'd like to return briefly to the Russian document. It suggests reviewing several political issues. Much attention is paid to the UN role in international affairs and the consolidation of multilateral structures. It is impossible to avoid discussing the need to reform the Security Council, which should reflect the new alignment of forces in the world. The Brazilian Government has held this position for several decades. BRICS support for the proposed reform will promote the partnership between our countries and deepen our political dialogue. We'd like to express our unreserved support for stronger financial stability and the mechanisms that are designed to protect information, guarantee food and economic security and the implementation of the millennium goals. Our countries could write comparative reports on this subject and make them part of our programme.

Madame Chairperson, ladies and gentlemen, these are my thoughts on the intensive and productive work we are now starting. I'm confident our forum, which is still taking shape, can make a decisive contribution to the development of important and durable relations between our countries.

Valentina Matviyenko: Thank you, Mr Calheiros. I'll now turn the floor over to Mr Zhan Dejang, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. Go ahead, please.

Zhan Dejang (via interpreter): Ms Matviyenko, I'm very glad to be in beautiful Moscow and to meet with all of you here. This meeting is a very important historical event, a real landmark in BRICS history. It gives profound content to the development of our contacts and cooperation, mutual understanding, stronger friendship and the formation of better, warmer and closer relations. I'd also like to express my sincere gratitude to the hosts for the excellent organisation of this meeting.

The history of cooperation between the BRICS countries is not long but it's very positive. The formation of the mechanism of summits in 2009 was a powerful impetus and set us on a course for deeper cooperation. In the past six years we have worked together to improve the structure, the framework of our cooperation, expand its scale, enrich its content and put it on a multi-level foundation. We have achieved much. All of our peoples are deriving enormous benefits from BRICS cooperation, which is also making a tangible contribution to promoting universal peace and security. Experience has shown that cooperation between the BRICS countries is in the interests of peace and mutual advantage. It is also enhancing stability and balance in our economic relations, making international contacts more fair and the international order more efficient, and promoting peace.

Colleagues, this morning we will discuss global political and economic issues. This is an important area of focus. Important and profound changes are taking place internationally, such as the transition to a multipolar world, the deepening of economic globalisation, and the ever-increasing interdependence of all the countries. The aspirations for peace, shared economic growth, cooperation and mutually beneficial interaction are shared by all of our nations. Clearly, the world still faces many difficulties and challenges, such as the international financial crisis, which can still be felt at different levels. This also includes tangled regional and international problems and hotbeds of tension. This also includes unconventional security challenges, maintaining peace and shared growth. Achieving these objectives is still a relevant and, unfortunately, distant goal.

The BRICS countries are an important international power and a positive force in advancing international relations. We are the new rising powers, developing countries whose strength is continuously increasing. We contribute to creating a more equitable international economic and political situation. Along this path, we will encounter different challenges and difficulties, but the historical process is unstoppable. In the current circumstances, the BRICS economies have new opportunities but are also faced with unprecedented challenges. However, we believe that we must be firm, open and tolerant in our cooperation, strengthen the spirit of partnership and cooperation and achieve common growth and thereby respond to economic and political challenges, thus promoting peace and growth worldwide.

In this regard, I have several proposals. First of all, it's imperative to maintain global peace and an equitable international order. All the people in the world want to live in peace. BRICS is a powerful force that helps foster world peace. We put forward joint initiatives on preserving shared security and on security cooperation. We come up with new ideas in these areas and promote coordination and dialogue in the sphere of international political security. We fight terrorism and promote cyberspace security. All of this is designed to provide additional peace and security guarantees.

For the BRICS countries to play an even more positive role in addressing international challenges, it is imperative to adhere to the principles of justice and respect for the rights of different countries to choose their own social development systems and paths of development. We must strive to ensure that the world order moves towards greater justice.

This year, the UN and all the countries of the world are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazism. We must actively participate in all the commemorative events and not allow anyone to try to rewrite history or turn it on its head. We must strive together to preserve the international security system, which is based on the principles of the UN.

My second proposal is that we must together, hand in hand, strive to promote growth. The BRICS countries have a common strategic goal, namely, the long-term economic growth and prosperity of our nations. In a complex, fast-changing international environment where the global economic recovery is unable to gain momentum, our countries must strengthen their unity and stand together in the face of all sorts of challenges. They must encourage new sources of growth. It is imperative to foster the viability of our economies and improve competitiveness.

Our countries have gained a lot of positive experience in the area of reforms. We should share this experience, master the modern laws of economic growth, update our economic ideas and look for ground-breaking ideas together.

Third, we should constantly deepen pragmatic cooperation across various fields. The BRICS countries have enormous resources, and their production structure enjoys a high degree of complementarity. Thus, the potential for cooperation is high. We must take advantage of our political cooperation and complementarity in the economic sphere in order to create new positive effects. In our trade and economic cooperation, we must move toward creating a single market, a multi-level currency swap mechanism, new agreements, and new infrastructure projects and also strengthen cooperation based on popular support. Institutions, such as the BRICS New Development Bank and the Contingency Reserve Arrangement of the BRICS countries are key to that. The decisions of the 6th summit of the BRICS are very important in this regard. We need to create new projects.

Fourth, it's imperative to improve global economic governance mechanisms. Our countries should not rest on our laurels. It is imperative that we keep looking for new opportunities to promote joint development.

We must step up our contacts and cooperation in the UN, the G20 and international financial and economic venues. We must coordinate our macroeconomic policies, carry out reform of the international monetary system, facilitate liberalisation of world trade and maintain stability in the global economy. We should intensify our ties with the developing nations that are referred to as "new markets" and enhance their voting rights. We should also encourage South-South and North-South dialogue.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a saying in China: if people are soul mates neither mountains nor seas can divide them. The BRICS countries represent four continents, but despite the distances between them they speak one language and in one voice. Looking back we can say how much we have already accomplished in a short span of time. But looking ahead we can see even greater prospects. BRICS will hold its seventh summit next month, in Ufa. I am confident that by pooling our efforts, we will open up new vistas before us and further strengthen BRICS. Thank you.

Valentina Matviyenko: Thank you, Mr Zhan, for your speech. Now I'd like to give the floor to Ms Thandi Modise, the Chairperson of South Africa's National Council of Provinces. Go ahead, please.

Thandi Modise (via interpreter): Madam Chair of Russia's Federation Council, Mr State Duma Speaker, chairs of the BRICS parliamentary chambers, MPs, diplomats, ladies and gentlemen,

I'd like to join my colleagues in thanking our hosts and Moscow for their hospitality.

This historic BRICS meeting is taking place a month after the celebrations of Victory in World War II. We are also observing the 70th anniversary since the establishment of the United Nations.

Key delegates from the parliaments of the BRICS countries have gathered here to develop an organisation capable of facilitating coordination, restructuring, and transformation of the institutions that were set up after 1945 for managing world affairs, such as the UN, its Security Council, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. They should be tailored to the current realities.

In Africa we act in line with the African Union agenda for 2063. We emphasise the importance of the UN's role in maintaining global peace and security. We highly value this UN role and support governance reform. We also believe the United Nations should make some adjustments to its performance to continue ensuring stability and the conditions required for development throughout the world.

We acknowledge that the BRICS Parliamentary Forum was established to boost coordination, communication and interaction between us. We have tasks to overcome common political and economic issues, we have cultural and political goals. Throughout many years, we have faced serious problems in the economy and the policy of independence. We are developing as a united front. We are concerned about the conflict and terrorism in various parts of the world. We are witnessing events that are taking place, for instance, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Burundi, Syria, Yemen, Ukraine and we also see the occupation of Palestine.

South Africa admits that Africa's economic growth is slow. We acknowledge that economic growth is impossible without peace and stability. We also acknowledge that South Africa's interests are connected with the unity, stability and well-being of all Africa, the entire continent. We are a strategic gateway into Africa, and we are confident that our role in the African Union is reflected in our international policy and in the respect for international law. We believe that international relations should be based on rules, and we believe that it is necessary to develop a system based on a great number of participants. This is the cornerstone and the guarantee of global security, and this is our fundamental philosophy. Within this concept, we strive for the unity of humankind and for the resolution of conflicts. We can advance only if we focus on humankind's common goals and aspire to the common well-being.

The 2013 BRICS Summit in Durban acknowledged the African Union's role in strengthening peace and security. It also spoke to the fact that we support our system of priorities and strive for partnership based on consultations in decision making. We are confident that as parliamentarians we must use all tools available to us to achieve peace and stability in our countries.

The Fortaleza Declaration and Action Plan highlight and emphasise the aspiration of BRICS countries for developing a new agenda in the interests of advancement, governability and peace. We must take efforts to coordinate parliamentary committees which oversee the implementation of agreements. This means we constantly receive reports on the fulfilment of decisions taken and implemented on behalf of our nations.

Our duty lies in interaction among ourselves. We adopt laws, make amendments, adopt international budgets, work hand in hand with executive bodies. This all is necessary for BRICS to perform its functions of providing for the well-being of our nations. Our aim is to contribute to the development of the group's interests.

At this meeting, we are making initial steps towards realising the aspirations and dreams of those whom we represent. Our people must count not on our intentions but our actions. Thank you.

Valentina Matviyenko: Ms Modise, thank you for your remarks. Now I'd like to give the floor to Eduardo Cunha, Chair of the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Mr Cunha, go ahead.

Eduardo Cunha (via interpreter): Madame Chairperson of the Federation Council, Ms Matviyenko!

All of the members of our delegation would like to join our colleague, the representative of the Senate of our country, and our colleagues from other BRICS countries in thanking our hosts for their hospitality. The topic of today's meeting - the role of parliaments in addressing global political and economic issues - is of great interest to us. Involving legislative bodies in discussions of these important issues demonstrates the value of our activity for the future.

BRICS is not just an abbreviation but one of the most important drivers of global development. Our countries make up about 26 per cent of the land and about 46 per cent of the population of the world. Our combined GDP is approximately equal to the combined GDP of the famous G7 and illustrates our forward progress.

The second feature of this development is the growth that has been achieved by our economies in the past few years. In recent decades, our economy has grown several times over. Despite the great differences between our countries, they have recently showed common approaches in strategic political areas. The four countries that formed our grouping became the nucleus of a new cooperation mechanism, making collective action on the world stage possible.

The process of gradually forming an institutional foundation for our bloc began at that time, culminating in the sixth summit in July 2014 in Fortaleza, where important agreements were signed on establishing the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement. We also signed memorandums of understanding and technical cooperation, export guarantees between the BRICS countries, and an agreement between the national development banks of the five countries on innovation cooperation.

Simultaneously, we are gradually creating a horizontal institutional foundation. The relevant mechanisms of our countries find a common modus, a common course of action. And the parliaments of our countries should unite their efforts and work on the integration process.

The efforts to increase cooperation of the BRICS countries should be approved by our parliaments. In particular, the Brazilian parliament should approve the agreement on the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement. This important decision would turn the BRICS bank into a financial protection tool in crisis situations and create development opportunities.

As I said, the Brazilian Congress has approved the Agreement on the New Development Bank aimed at promoting sustainable development structures. This has boosted relations between our countries in the economic sphere. In this context, the continued institutionalisation of our forum is very important for our common interests, including certain sectors of our economies. As certain sectors of our economies grow, they will complement each other and our cooperation in other economic sectors. In fact, we should focus on creating a common agenda for our countries, on protecting our interests on the international stage and domestically, on maintaining our cultural and political diversity, and on improving the system of international governance. All of us know about the problems with the Bretton-Woods system, which does not meet 21st century requirements.

Our common agenda should be formulated so as to facilitate changes in the operation of multilateral international agencies such as the IMF and the World Bank. We need to adopt additional measures for these institutions.

Our parliamentary interaction should closely monitor issues of collective global security, including for strengthening the UN and the efficiency of its peacekeeping efforts and the peaceful settlement of conflicts.

We must act in a mutually complementary manner not only to keep the peace and address other issues, but also to answer the challenges of terrorism and drug trafficking.

Our inter-parliamentary ties can help create a broad network involving our representatives in culture, sport, education and healthcare. In turn, this will strengthen, consolidate and promote the BRICS group. We should therefore value and uphold our parliaments' attention to these issues. It is in our common interests to strengthen ties between our countries, and I believe that we would benefit from more effective cooperation. On the global plane, BRICS can and must become an effective tool for creating a balance of power and influence in the world, and it must lead this process. Thank you.

Valentina Matviyenko: Thank you, Mr Cunha. Our next speaker is Mr Solomon Tsenoli, Deputy Speaker at the National Assembly (Parliament) of South Africa. Proceed, please.

Solomon Tsenoli (via interpreter): Thank you, Ms Matviyenko, Mr Naryshkin. I share the opinion of my colleagues from China and Brazil - we are happy to be part of this group. We have been working to implement our collective decisions, seeking to act democratically and to more effectively use available cultural and economic resources to fight poverty and to improve prosperity.

As the head of our delegation said, we are working in the interests of our country and in the interests of the African continent as a whole. We try to act in concert because we represent BRICS. We are committed to working to implement our collective decisions. This is our strategy, a strategy for creating a new infrastructure and a new development bank.

Our task as a legislative authority is to discuss the treaties and agreements submitted to us by our leaders. We must work to encourage the national executive authorities to responsibly implement the tasks at hand. There are lessons to learn from each other. We must create a platform for this. We are the voice of our people, and we must work to accelerate the changes underway in the life of our people, our local communities.

There are areas where we can achieve a lot if we cooperate to promote and accelerate our countries' development. Therefore, we support the creation of this forum, which is playing a major role in its sphere of operation.

The World Bank and the IMF have an important function and role. But their reputation has been damaged by the fact that developing countries are not sufficiently represented in them. Overall, because of this insufficiency, the IMF and the World Bank are dominated by European countries and the United States. The problem is the insufficient influence of developing countries at the IMF, which affects decision making.

In 2010, the IMF approved reforms that should have changed the situation for developing countries. But the reform of such institutions must not be limited to the creation of new institutions. We must create conditions so that these organisations can accurately respond to the requirements of developing countries. To open up these opportunities, we must reach strategic goals, which is why we are here.
Thank you.

Valentina Matviyenko: Thank you for your speech, Mr Tsenoli. I am giving the floor to Mr Shashi Tharoor, Chairman of the Indian Parliament's Standing Committee on External Affairs. Proceed, please.

Shashi Tharoor (via interpreter): Your Excellency, Ms Matviyenko, Speaker of the Federation Council of Russia. Your Excellency, Mr Naryshkin, Speaker of the State Duma. Heads of the BRICS delegations Mr Zhang Dejiang, Mr Solomon Tsenoli and Mr Renan Calheiros, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

I am happy to be here in Moscow for the BRICS Parliamentary Forum, a special meeting organised for members of parliament from the BRICS countries. It's a great honour for me to represent India at this event as chairman of the Standing Committee on External Affairs of the parliament's lower house.

I'd like to thank our host, Mr Naryshkin, for organising this meeting, for preparing a substantial agenda, for a warm welcome, and even for the good weather. I congratulate my Russian colleagues on Russia taking over BRICS presidency. It happened at an opportune moment, in the year when we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 70th anniversary of the UN. It's good that BRICS countries speak as one on the reform of the global economy and financial governance. I believe that 2015 will be a wonderful year for BRICS, when it will show its unity and speak as one for reforming the UN Security Council, which should reflect current geopolitical reality.

Colleagues, we are living in a world that differs widely from what it was several decades ago. The changes are gaining speed -communications and transport technologies... Various regions are witnessing the rise of economic powers that deliver their populations from poverty, but they also face various problems such as terrorism, pandemics, regional conflicts, the internet problem, cybersecurity, global warming, and other issues. We are confronting these today and they call for collective actions.

UN membership has quadrupled. The world governance model, that dates to the mid-1940s, needs urgent reform for it to reflect the challenges of an interdependent world and to effectively address global issues - issues "without a passport", which can cross any border and which cannot be solved by any single country or group of countries, no matter how big or strong.

21st century challenges are vast and almost universal, and require mechanisms to address them. Over the last 70 years, the United Nations has played an important and indispensable role in three key areas - international peace and security, economic growth and development, and the protection of human rights. But we are concerned about the inability of governance, including the UN and its Security Council, to maintain international security and peace in full measure.

It is quite important to strengthen the central role of the UN in international relations by carrying out a long overdue reform of the UN and its Security Council. This objective remains very urgent.

Colleagues, rule of law is a basic human right, which forms the foundation of societies, guaranteeing prosperity, freedom and dignity to all members of society.

As we near the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, it's worth our while to recall some provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was adopted on 10 December 1948. Importantly, people should not be coerced into anything. Among other things, they shouldn't be forbidden to come out against tyranny and aggression. This phrase encapsulates the rights and duties of both the state and an individual person. Our peoples should respect the rights and sovereignty of others.

The objective advancement of the application of international law includes the strengthening of the legal systems created by international multilateral treaties. It is also necessary to improve the understanding of these instruments and promote implementation. BRICS parliamentary cooperation in this area has the potential to perform these international obligations in good faith and to strengthen the friendly ties and cooperation between states.

Ladies and gentlemen, since the inception of BRICS we have dealt with the crucial tasks of peace, security, development and cooperation. Faced with an aggravation of socioeconomic difficulties, we should intensify our partnership with a new vision based on openness, exclusiveness and mutual cooperation. Parliaments play a critical role in preventing conflicts, in peace-building, and in post-conflict reconstruction.

The executive authorities should act efficiently but there is also a need for representation and accountability, two key functions of parliaments. Parliaments form a link between citizens and the state and can make sure that citizens' concerns and priorities are incorporated into laws and that a parliament's security-related representatives can call governments to account for their actions or their inaction in such areas as poverty reduction, which also reduces a society's level of vulnerability to conflict. These are natural venues where mediation takes place, where diversity is represented, where opposite points of view meet, and where dialogue leads to consensus.

Colleagues, parliaments are reflections of the people they represent. This is why we should act in the interests of our nations. The parliamentary interaction of the BRICS countries makes it possible for us to share views on a number of issues of mutual interest. Consultation and coordination between BRICS MPs on the sidelines of the IPU and other international meetings will be useful. We can continue interaction with the BRICS parliaments at the relevant forums, in which we all participate.

In conclusion, I would like to thank our Russian colleagues for this initiative and for their hospitality. The Prime Minister of India will visit the BRICS Forum in Ufa in July. I sincerely wish you success at this summit. Thank you for your time.

Valentina Matviyenko: Thank you, Mr Shashi Tharoor, for your address. Colleagues, all the delegation heads have held the floor. Does anyone wish to comment on our discussion or ask a question? Or perhaps there are delegation members who would like to take floor as well? Please do! Are there any volunteers? None.

We will continue this work - there will be another plenary meeting.

<Break>

Sergei Naryshkin: Ladies and gentlemen, I suggest we continue. I know that during the break our colleagues worked hard on drafting the final document. This work continues and it may happen that during the second session the heads of delegations will have to meet again for a short discussion in another room so that the working group can report on the progress in drafting the document, as well as for the heads of delegations to make final corrections to this important paper.

For now, we will continue. I'm pleased to give the floor to Valentina Matviyenko, Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly. Please.

Valentina Matviyenko: Thank you.

Mr Naryshkin, ladies and gentlemen. The establishment and the dynamic development of BRICS, extending cooperation in the key areas of the international agenda have apparently posed a question of this association acquiring a parliamentary dimension. The parliament of Brazil initiated this improvement some time ago and finally, it happened. I would like to briefly express my opinion about the prospects and objectives of cooperation between our parliaments. Throughout the entire Russian Presidency in BRICS we can see a gradual transformation of BRICS from a dialogue forum and a coordination instrument for a limited range of issues into a full-scale framework for long-term and current interaction on key issues of global politics and economy. This requires supplementing the efforts of the executive officials of our states with an input from the legislative authority. In general, we have noticed the increasingly powerful role and influence of legislative authorities lately.

BRICS' potential is huge for ensuring the growth of our economies, their competitiveness in the global world and, in the long run, the growing wealth of our citizens. I believe humanitarian and cultural cooperation, the mutual enrichment of our cultures in maintaining the identity of our nations have the utmost importance.

We have to admit that not everybody is pleased with our increasing interaction and BRICS' growing influence and credibility. We have seen attempts to discourage our partnership by certain powers promoting a unipolar world, their hegemony and pre-eminence. Today we are declaring with all certainty that BRICS' activity does not have a "target" and our intention is not to gain an advantage at the expense of other states. We are motivated by the interests of our countries and nations, the interests of the global community and security, through an opportunity to build a fair and multipolar world.

These goals are beneficial to all countries and nations. With global markets experiencing fierce competition, financial and economic cooperation require special attention from lawmakers. Adoption of The Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership, the establishment of the BRICS New Development Bank and the launch of the Contingent Reserve Arrangement are of particular importance. These tools will provide the successful promotion of BRICS' interests in reforming the international monetary and financial system, provide for stable and balanced growth and, eventually, a stronger foundation for economic multipolarity.

The promotion of joint initiatives in a range of topical issues at international platforms is another important task for the BRICS parliamentary branch. This includes strengthening peace and security, resolving regional conflicts, improving international institutions, reforming international financial and economic architecture, preventing international terrorism, incidents of racism and Nazism and other modern challenges. Our cooperation in immigration issues, social and labour relations, state information policy, healthcare, social, political and humanitarian issues, cultural cooperation and youth policy is very important. BRICS' national parliaments have accumulated a large amount of unique legislative experience in their countries.

Our countries' MPs are actively involved in multilateral and bilateral inter-parliamentary cooperation on the regional and global levels. They enjoy well-deserved influence and respect among their colleagues in international parliamentary associations. We at the Federation Council prioritise inter-parliamentary ties with our colleagues from the BRICS countries. There is every reason to believe that the BRICS Parliamentary Forum will become a highly promising association, which will provide a qualitatively new foundation for inter-parliamentary cooperation between our states in various areas. At the same time, it is important that our cooperation is not limited to the sharing of legislative experience, even though such exchanges are very useful.

We should jointly search for mechanisms to harmonise our legislations and coordinate law-making activity to ensure the implementation of the decisions and agreements reached by the BRICS leaders. Special attention should be given to parliamentary support for the agreements signed within the BRICS framework. Our parliaments should pritoritise the ratification of corresponding documents, their synchronisation and integration into our national legislative systems and subsequent implementation.

Our goal is to provide parliamentary support to cooperation in economic, cultural, scientific, education, healthcare, sport and other areas. It is important to work together in creating conditions and promoting the expansion of interregional cooperation between our countries' regions. There is much potential here. On the practical level, the development of the BRICS parliamentary dimension can include the following new elements: annual meetings between parliament speakers (our forums should be regular and consistent); regular inter-parliamentary and expert consultations, for example, between issue-specific parliamentary committees; the coordination of legislative activity, primarily regarding the ratification of agreements signed between the BRICS countries; the development of special programmes and contacts between young MPs; and the launch of sections on the BRICS countries legislative bodies' websites that are devoted to the parliamentary dimension of our association.

I believe that the strength of our parliaments, of the parliamentary dimension of our cooperation lies in the high degree of openness in the discussion, elaboration and making of decisions. In addition to the efforts of the executive branches of government, parliaments can play an important role in mobilising public opinion for addressing global political and economic issues. We should pool our efforts to expand our ties between BRICS parliaments, business communities and civil society institutions. I believe that this is also very important.

In conclusion, I would like to say that I am sure that our forum will become an effective platform for the discussion of the most important issues of inter-parliamentary cooperation between the BRICS countries and will help develop and deepen multilateral cooperation between our parliaments, countries and peoples in various spheres. I believe it would be desirable to prepare and adopt a memorandum on the purposes and goals of our inter-parliamentary cooperation within the framework of BRICS. This document could be drafted by the contact group with the participation of experts, and it could be adopted at our next meeting.

Ladies and gentlemen, in line with the principle of rotation of BRICS presidency, the next summit of the BRICS heads of state and government should take place in India. I believe we should also decide which country will host the second BRICS Parliamentary Forum.

Thank you.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you, Ms Matviyenko, for your remarks and your specific proposals. It is my pleasure to give the floor to Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China.

Zhang Dejiang (via interpreter): Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, at our morning session, we have just had a substantive, meaningful and effective discussion on ways of responding to international political and economic issues. Your opinions and viewpoints provide rich food for thought.

At the second session, devoted to the establishment and development of inter-parliamentary cooperation between the BRICS countries, I would like to share my viewpoint with you. It is the responsibility of our countries' parliaments to listen to the people's aspirations, represent the will of the people and safeguard the interests of the people. This should also become the principal purpose and goal of cooperation between our parliaments.

Bilateral cooperation between the BRICS countries is well developed today, but multilateral cooperation between BRICS parliaments still needs development and enrichment.

We must create conditions for a more extensive and mutually beneficial collaboration and partnership between the BRICS countries. We should monitor the general environment, move forward together and plan cooperation of the BRICS parliaments and their long-term strategy; exploit our advantages to intensify our contacts and cooperation, accelerate development, reanimate our collective work by expanding its scope.

Having said this, I would like to make four proposals. The first is to work together within BRICS for a common goal and initiate the development of our collaboration. The BRICS countries have already become an example for new emerging economies and developing countries. This partnership corresponds to the fundamental interests of the five BRICS states and could be helpful in promoting peace, stability and prosperity across the world.

We fully support the creation of general conditions for cooperation among our states and favour transparency, tolerance, networking and mutually advantageous relations. We must also make every effort to produce a joint partnership policy.

We must also create conditions for our governments and the peoples to participate in this work, stimulate integration of our countries, cooperation at various levels, including maritime, surface and air communications, constantly develop humanitarian collaboration and thus inspire even closer relations and productivity within BRICS.

Second. It is our job to support peace across the world and international law. We must create a favourable environment for BRICS' further development. Because where there is no peace we can't speak about progress and happiness of our people.

The BRICS parliaments play an important role in the lives of their respective countries as well as in international and regional affairs. Our parliaments must perform their duties, be involved in improving our cooperation and create the general conducive environment for further progress.

With the 70th anniversary of the United Nations coming up and in the year marking the 70th anniversary of Victory in World War II, our objective is to promote respect in the international community for the UN Charter, its principles and general course of action; fulfil our commitment to upholding peace and international law. We must respect the international law and the generally recognised fundamental values, resolve any existing disagreements through consultations and peaceful negotiations; vigorously protect peace, stability and prosperity. We must also be active participants in a global management reform, stimulate equal participation of the developing countries in identifying development principles and alter the global order towards higher efficiency and justice.

Third. It is vital to intensify the exchange of experience in managing social and economic processes. This will be a practical dimension of this exchange. Over the past years, each of the BRICS countries has employed its own advantages to improve its social and economic development models. Each country has achieved extraordinary results that reflected its unique experience, its specifics, national and cultural profile.

With the international social, economic and political situation becoming more complicated, the BRICS countries are now facing new difficulties and challenges, many of which mirror each other. The parliament deals with legislation, control and supervision, and thus is essential for the development of each of the countries.

As each of us is guided by our own model of social and economic development, we should strive for exchanging opinions, experience and every successful example in resolving social and economic disagreements, in boosting the economy, science and democratic development. Fourth. It is important to create a platform for cooperation between the parliaments and for moving forward. In every country, the parliament is a body that is very closely connected to society, by a thousand of threads. It collects a huge amount of data about the country's situation. It is to our advantage to act under the leadership of our parliaments' heads, reinforce the contacts between our MPs, between the parliaments and at an expert level, thus creating a multi-level mechanism for dialogue and cooperation. Eventually, we will be able to enhance links between our parliaments and nations, promote these links and provide a strong basis of people's and parliamentary support. We must also enlist assistance from the international parliamentary assembly and establish our own inter-parliamentary group. This way, our voices will be heard.

Ladies and gentlemen, the law is a fundamental category reflecting the development of the modern society. The Communist Party of China puts a great emphasis on law-based development, which is the main guideline for China's progress. This is an outstanding historical achievement.

In October 2014 in China, the fourth plenary session of the 18th convocation of the Communist Party of China took place. The session set a goal to build a state based on the law. This is in line with a long-term goal of building China-specific socialism. Now we are discussing the establishment of a law-governed state based on China-specific socialism. China is currently guided by four major principles: to build a society of widespread middle-class wealth, to continue improving the reforms, to establish a law-governed state and to improve discipline within the Communist Party. These principles correspond with China's development strategy for the next 100 years. These goals will eventually bring us to the great Chinese dream.

The National People's Congress is the supreme legislative body of China that plays a major role in all these processes. Our intention is to increase its significance even more and protect the constitution as a key element of the Chinese socialism and the Chinese legal system. The National People's Congress will keep coordinating legal issues with the BRICS parliaments in order to expand the scope of cooperation and catalyse the collaboration among the BRICS countries. Thank you.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you Mr Chairman Zhang Dejiang. Allow me to give the floor now to Ms Thandi Modise, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces of the Parliament of South Africa.

Thandi Modise (via interpreter): Thank you Mr Chairman.

Following our morning discussions, we have come to an understanding and acceptance of the fact that our countries' parliaments operate within the framework of different constitutions and use different work procedures. Therefore, the importance of this forum, the BRICS forum, becomes even greater as we begin coordinating our ideas on various issues that are important to us.

It is important to define, or at least outline the areas in which we will focus our efforts to promote coordination and cooperation within BRICS. This is important because this is how we can live up to the expectations of the peoples we represent. They may vary. I know that back home we will have to stand before the parliament's committee and explain what and where and how. It is very important for us that the parliament show interest in BRICS' activity. It is important because the New Development Bank - something we had wanted for so long - will be financed by the government, and ministers and other statesmen will have to report about it.

We are setting the objectives for our work, how often we will be meeting and which areas we will focus on. We do not expect the BRICS Parliamentary Forum to simply help us decide how we need to work. We need rules, we need procedures and we need to discuss general issues we must resolve, and we need bilateral meetings. But we also need an opportunity to say that this BRICS Forum is not just one of the many forums. We are here to represent the peoples of five nations and our job is to give them real growth and stability. Therefore, Mr Chairman, the representatives of South Africa think it important that we end this meeting with some kind of agreement on further activities of the BRICS Parliamentary Forums. We cannot go unless we reach some point here. Thank you.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you. I give the floor to Mr Shashi Tharoor, Chairman of the Indian Parliament's Standing Committee on External Affairs.

Shashi Tharoor (via interpreter): Thank you, Your Excellency Mr Naryshkin and Ms Matviyenko. Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. BRICS cooperation began with the idea advanced by President Putin in St. Petersburg in 2006. Much has been done since then to expand and consolidate it. BRICS cooperation has spread to new areas such as culture, tourism, education, trade and investment. This is more than relations between the governments of two countries. Today we are working in the framework of the governments of all of our countries, formulating new solutions to global issues. Our decisions to create the New Development Bank and the contingent reserve arrangement are evidence of this. The New Development Bank will contribute very well to the efforts of the other regional and international development banks.

This forum today is not the first meeting of members of parliament from the BRICS countries. Our meetings began on the sidelines of the G20 group in Seoul in May 2011, and we have gathered several times since then. But this meeting is the first dedicated forum of MPs.

I would say that parliamentary meetings will enable MPs to be in the thick of events and to receive comprehensive information. In addition, a new dimension has been added to BRICS cooperation - interaction between representatives of our peoples, as my South African colleague said. Our parliaments will be better informed about BRICS affairs. Parliaments play a special role in our countries. I suggest that cooperation among the BRICS parliaments should differ from the group's other cooperation mechanisms at different levels. BRICS has developed certain traditions: preliminary meetings are usually held ahead of each summit. Our forums must not become one of these preliminary formats of preparing for summits. We believe that the parliamentary track should stand apart, that we should hold parliamentary meetings on the sidelines of other meetings, for example, the meetings of the BRICS inter-parliamentary union. Colleagues, our countries have different political traditions that are reflected in the system of our parliamentary governance. We have different election systems, different representation systems, and specific decision making powers. Our parliamentary systems have their unique elements: we are learning from each other, which helps us improve mutual understanding and our countries' systems. As the first step I suggest that the BRICS parliaments focus on exchanges, on the programmes of inter-parliamentary exchanges, to improve the standards of mutual understanding. We can ask our representatives to coordinate their efforts. There is much we can do in the sphere of exchanges among young MPs, and we can also launch experience exchange programmes for the members of our secretariats. I believe that these meetings can promote mutual understanding. Inter-parliamentary cooperation must not be restricted by rigid mechanisms or institutions. The more informally our MPs interact, the higher will be the quality of our discussions. If colleagues agree, India can host the next meeting of experts to plan future cooperation among the BRICS members of parliament. Experts can issue recommendations on certain issues that have been proposed by Russia, in particular, your initiative for creating special sections on our websites that will cover the work of our parliaments.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you, Mr Tharoor, for your address. And we appreciate your proposal to convene a special expert meeting to determine the direction of our parliamentary interaction within the BRICS parliamentary dimension. Thank you once again.

Let me give the floor to Mr Zhirinovsky, head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. Please.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky: Good afternoon. We are discussing parliamentary interaction. I think that both parliaments and governments in the course of their contacts pay too little attention to the fight for peace, because there are very many armed conflicts and they tend to grow. It's a bad trend because a similar situation existed in Europe before World War II. We have met today to discuss wellbeing and improvement. Another meeting is being held in Munich, Bavaria, and it is being attended by the leaders of seven countries. Which meeting will provide a positive effect? We don't know what they were talking about behind closed doors, but similar meetings also took place before World War II and they involved approximately the same countries - Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and so on.

We have interacted productively to promote democracy. Our types of democracy may differ in some respects. But basically parliaments can do two things. Either they save the state and help it along or they facilitate a collapse.

We in Russia have two negative cases in point - 1917 and 1991. A very active parliament worked so efficiently that we had to change the status of our states. Elections were held in Turkey last Sunday, in which the parliamentary majority party lost seats through the fault of its leader. Let it be this way, let them have fewer votes - they will form a coalition government. But the worst-case scenario is when MPs bring about a crisis.

Finally, our common problem is whether we are returned to parliament or not. Israel has one percent electoral threshold, Turkey - ten percent, all of us with five percent are in the middle. Perhaps a ten percent threshold is good in its own way as a barrier to radicals as is one percent that allows all parties to be represented in parliament, but in any event the resultant arrangement is a two- or three-party coalition that ensures a majority. BRICS is an example of a multi-party system in international relations, while those meeting in Munich seem to be crystallising into a one-party regime. They consider only one aspect of every issue to the exclusion of all others.

We have assembled in a peaceful Moscow, while in Germany thousands of people wanted to disrupt the G7 meeting. This is a telltale sign.

Let's discuss health. All BRICS parliaments have committees on healthcare. Let's consider the Ebola problem. Jointly with our specialists we should perhaps determine whether Ebola is an infectious disease and an epidemic or a specific type of biological weapon? Why is it concentrated in Africa alone? Why was it active for a certain period of time? When necessary, it begins; when necessary, it ends. Where's this Ebola now? There is none in Europe. Perhaps somewhere in North Africa... The same with the bird flu: it crops up only in certain parts of the planet. The swine plague and mad cow disease are for some reason endemic in Britain.

We have a need to interact on youth issues. Almost every parliament has committees on sports and youth affairs. We can see what role young people played in the Ukrainian events. For the most part, this is a negative role that has led to the consequences that we face today. Given the upcoming world and European football championships, football fans have come to play a political role and we also must take this into consideration.

Term lengths for elected top executives... FIFA's problem is the five terms of the FIFA president. There would be no problem if he served one or two terms. This is why we should gradually - I am not saying tomorrow - elaborate a standard, under which any executive, in any country of the world, at any position should serve only one term. Two terms is already a path to corruption. To stay for a second term, he will spend his first five years to prepare the ground for being reelected for another five years. But some people say that, faced with a one-term option, he will use the five years to make himself wealthy. But he won't be able to do so because this is what a parliament's role is all about. It seems to me therefore that in the future we should pay more attention to how long a person holds an executive post. People shouldn't suffer the disgrace of being sent into retirement after five terms in one position.

Where young people are concerned, they should be protected from adverse influences. Today people from all over the world are heading to the Middle East. It's a fad like last century's blue jeans fad, the Pepsi Cola fad, the Che Guevara fad, etc. We should work with both young people as a whole and football fans.

Of course, the ISIS problem affects Russia, China and India directly. The Muslim factor is all pervasive. And young people play a role in this regard. It's the weakness of parliaments in the Middle Eastern countries. Either there are no parliaments at all, or they are very weak, or represent one-party, and young people in the Middle East are not influenced by them. Or rather the parliaments had no time to exert any influence.

We should pool our efforts. This new political trend is in some respect similar to Marxism. Maybe it also promises justice for everyone and equality for everyone... But it is a road of armed conflicts which will never lead to positive results. Take, for example, Ukraine, where an armed coup was perpetrated on the night of 22 February 2014, or ISIS, which is receiving arms and money from all over the world and recruiting young people from all over the world. This is dangerous, of course, but we must know the end goal. If the aim is to influence oil prices, it's tolerable, it's economic in nature, and we'll find a way out. But if it's a future army that can be used against India, China, or Russia... This can also be a negative situation. Our parliaments, their international committees and other committees – on defence, on security – can cooperate and invite specialists.

And the last thing I’d like to discuss is the financial system. America is winning because the dollar is used as the chief currency. Even the English language is not so powerful, although it’s also of importance for culture. The dollar is no longer the chief currency, because we have been using our national currencies. But we must have specialists of our own in this area, not those who are in contact with the notorious American financier… One South Korean businessman paid several million dollars for listening to a talk on how to swindle the entire planet. Everyone wants to be a billionaire, but then they jump from windows or organise dinners like this. But this is precisely where we can achieve success.

Our national currencies are mostly backed by natural resources. The dollar has no backing at all. They managed to hold a conference during the war, and these are the consequences of World War II. Therefore, I wish success to our MPs and all of us; we should spot in time the global threats that confront us – I mean environmental and other things on the agenda, which we discussed this morning. We can have influence too. A member of parliament is a legislator who works with his constituencies. I wouldn’t like military draft boards to mobilise our citizens because then they would no longer be our voters; they would obey the executive authorities as servicemen of our respective armed forces.

I am finished.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you for your speech, Mr Zhirinovsky. Thank you for drawing our attention to the two meetings that now are taking place in the world: the meeting of the so-called G7 in Bavaria and the BRICS Parliamentary Forum. The Bavaria meeting is being held behind closed doors; it is a confidential event, so to say. By contrast, ours is an open meeting because we have nothing to be ashamed of or to hide. Our agenda and discussion is open and positive.

As you pointed out, too, the meeting in Bavaria is taking place against the background of protests attended by thousands of people. Our nations, our voters have backed this meeting, they have given us the mandate to hold it because as we discuss issues here we have our peoples’ best interests and our countries’ prosperity at heart, and we don’t discuss dealing harm to anybody.

Thank you, Mr Zhirinovsky, I give the floor to Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the South African Republic Solomon Tsenoli.

Solomon Tsenoli (via interpreter): I would like to add that we now have a good opportunity to show ourselves to the world, act together, make an example and do things differently from the way they are done elsewhere. We must ensure that we are known for our practical real life actions, for having changed our people’s lives for the better, and for having alleviated the problems caused by institutions that existed before us. I thank all the delegations for their work. I think we will resolve our problems. Thank you very much.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you, Mr Tsenoli. Every word said here in this hall is worth a great deal, so I thank you for your brief but valuable speech.

I now give the floor to Federal Senator of the National Congress of the Federative Republic of Brazil Vanessa Grazziotin.

Vanessa Grazziotin (via interpreter): Thank you, Mr Chairman. First of all, as a senator and on behalf of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, I would like to stress the importance of this meeting within BRICS.

We know that since 2011, parliament representatives have tried to create something tangible. I think this first formal meeting must have great significance and serve as the beginning of regular discussions for the BRICS states. I think it is very important that today, by the end of this meeting we could adopt a final document, a document that would not only outline our obligations to support and intensify our cooperation through the BRICS parliaments but also strengthen our political stance. The achievements and decisions resulting from the work by our leaders and executive branches may be efficiently implemented only if they are consistently approved and supported by the national parliaments.

As Senate President Renan said, Brazil recently passed two resolutions that guarantee its participation both in the fund and the establishment of the bank. This is more than a formality. This forum and similar platforms provides much more. It allows us to move forward towards guaranteeing and actually strengthening cooperation within this group. Also, as the Speaker of the Federation Council said, this is an opportunity to align our legislations in areas from healthcare to human rights, social issues, education, and consumer rights. This is an opportunity to speak about important issues – for example, youth.

There is another critical issue that, I believe, must be included in the discussion. It is the issue of gender. We must work on equality and comprehensive inclusion of women in the government. I believe it is essential for democracy and social equality.

Finally, a very important goal for the BRICS association is building a multipolar world, a world that could develop on the principles of justice, society-oriented economy; that would fight poverty and help reach out to those categories of population that were always left out of the development process. These are not just women but also indigenous peoples, black people, the people who do not have an opportunity to become involved in development or to take advantage of those achievements that come with progress.

With my appreciation for such a warm welcome in Russia, I would like to say that, without any doubt, this event will have an excellent outcome when we finalise this forum’s manifesto and continue to move forward by strengthening our links, friendship and cooperation. Distance does not divide us. We are united by our goals and our fight for justice and peace. Thank you.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you, Ms Grazziotin.

Now I would like to give the floor to Alexei Pushkov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee for International Affairs.

Alexei Pushkov: Thank you. In 2005, for the first time in history, developing economies produced more goods and services than developed ones. This marked the start of a global revolution, characterised by the changing influence of various centres of economic development, which we are witnessing today. This global revolution is resulting in the fact that the new centres of economic development are closing the gap with the traditional centres of economic development, and are likely to overtake them in the near future.

According to the International Monetary Fund, in 2014 the gross domestic product of the BRICS countries stood at 30 per cent of the world's GDP and the combined BRICS GDP totalled $ 32.5 trillion. The same year, the combined GDP of the G7 countries was $34.7 trillion, meaning that the difference was $ 2.2 trillion or less than 10 per cent.

Given the growth rate in most of the BRICS countries, over the next few years the combined BRICS GDP is likely to exceed the combined G7 GDP. This trend is in line with the global revolution that has been unfolding at the beginning of the 21^st century. This is not only an economic trend. Also important are the principles and values promoted by the BRICS countries and their national parliaments, and supported by their people and societies.

Along with the universal principles, the universally recognised principles of human rights, I would like to stress some other principles that were mentioned today during the discussion of the tasks that BRICS has set for itself. These include respect of national sovereignty, the right of each country to choose its own development path, the principle of unity of international law, the principle of renouncing the ideas of superiority of one nation over other nations, the principle of equality and balance of interests, and a number of other principles. These are the principles supported by our people and implemented, including in the international arena, by the parliaments of our countries.

In this regard, we believe that the BRICS Parliamentary Forum, which is taking place today, plays an extremely important role in the coordination and approval of these principles and approaches.

We believe it is very important that this forum become a regular, hopefully an annual, event, in order to use and consolidate the positive impetus that the first ever BRICS Parliamentary Forum, which is being held today in Moscow, will give to our inter-parliamentary cooperation, and more broadly, to the cooperation in the framework of BRICS in general.

In parallel, we could work on the creation of a multi-level mechanism of dialogue and cooperation, which was mentioned by the esteemed Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China. In line with this are the suggestions from the Indian side on inter-parliamentary exchanges and the proposal to hold a meeting of experts in India, during which the specific forms and formats for the development of our inter-parliamentary dialogue could be considered.

A regular parliamentary forum and a multi-level dialogue mechanism will certainly contribute to the implementation of the tasks set by the BRICS. Thank you.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you very much, Mr Pushkov. Now we would like to hear from Bruno Araujo, member of the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of the Federative Republic of Brazil and leader of the parliamentary minority.

Bruno Araujo (via interpreter): <…> Two representatives, presidents of two chambers, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, have asked me to share with you the decision to create a permanent commission within the National Congress that will include senators and deputies, in order to exclusively deal with BRICS issues. They also suggest that today’s meeting become a regular event, perhaps taking place every three months and reflecting the specifics of each of the parliaments, so that members of these parliaments could meet every three months and prepare for annual meetings.

The arrangements around the Development Bank are of great importance. The parliament’s initiative within the BRICS parliaments is to acknowledge that our sovereign states made the right decision in establishing a group that will apparently change the world’s economic geography.

Finally, our leaders, chairs of the Chamber and the Senate, as well as other members of the Brazilian parliament present here also request that we continue supporting the top-level meetings’ decisions by our heads of state and government as a priority. Thank you very much.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you for your speech, Mr Araujo. I will now give the floor to Konstantin Kosachyov, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs.

Konstantin Kosachyov: Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the national parliaments of the BRICS countries,

I requested to speak as a member of the working group that has been intensively upgrading the draft statement of the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum during yesterday and today. It is now being submitted for your consideration.

This was a truly collective effort and I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to representatives of all national delegations for their contribution to this work. I appreciate their readiness to add their vision of the future parliamentary dimension of BRICS to the final document and to seek compromise on issues where agreement was lacking initially.

Naturally, we did not start this yesterday. The first draft was compiled and submitted to national parliaments about a month ago. We worked on it for several weeks by correspondence.

Several dozen amendments were submitted, and allow me to repeat that we have achieved the main result – the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum has united around a single document and a single text. In this way it has registered the ideas and proposals made by all participants in the forum and will be used as a guide for our future work. The text of the document is fairly long. All national delegations have it and there’s no need for me to read the full text now. I will just note the key points.

We believe the main point is the clear statement on the considerable role the BRICS parliaments can play in resolving the most urgent issues that are a source of concern for the world community. The document also notes that BRICS is turning into an international mechanism for consultations and cooperation on key global political and economic issues.

Our document places special emphasis on the 70^th anniversary of the United Nations and the end of World War II. It reflects our consensus view on the need to preserve the results of World War II, maintain a fair international order based on the UN Charter, enhance the UN’s central role in maintaining international peace and security, respect the goals and principles of the UN Charter and expand BRICS cooperation in the UN. We also emphasise the importance of comprehensive reform in the UN, including its Security Council.

Our document notes the timeliness of the BRICS parliamentary dimension and emphasises the need to promote joint initiatives on peace and security at global venues, settle regional conflicts, upgrade international institutions, reform global governance and counter international terrorism, racism, neo-Nazism and other modern challenges, and work together to create a peaceful, safe and open global information space on the basis of principles of cooperation. The participants have announced their intentions to continue consolidating and expanding all forms of parliamentary cooperation with a view to deepening the strategic partnership of the BRICS countries.

In conclusion I’d like to say that the text of the statement prepared by the Russian side did not contain this last item for obvious reasons, but the four other delegations insisted on including it in the document: “Parliamentarians from Brazil, India, China and South Africa expressed their gratitude to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for hosting the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum in Moscow and for the hospitality accorded to the Participants.”

That concludes my report. I’d like to request that the participants support the draft statement of the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you, Mr Kosachev, for your detailed presentation of the final document, which has been agreed by all parties.

We'll revisit this document, because there are speakers who didn’t have the chance to speak, but now I’ll give the floor to Vyacheslav Nikonov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Education. Over to you.

Vyacheslav Nikonov: Thank you, Mr Naryshkin. Speakers of parliament, Excellencies, friends, colleagues, I’m a trained historian, and it’s always a pleasure not only to study history but to make it as we are today.

8 June 2015 has already gone down in history as the day of the first meeting of the BRICS parliament members. But sometimes the historian in me protests, especially when they claim that the BRICS was invented by Goldman Sachs in 2001. In fact, the process of creating the BRICS is all about the history of relations between our five countries, which go back into centuries. Trade routes connected China, India and Africa more than two thousand years ago, back in the time of the Han Dynasty, long before the Indian Gupta Empire. Russia, China and certain parts of India were part of the Genghisids Empire.

Brazil was the first Latin American country with which Russia established diplomatic relations even before Brazil became independent. Famous Russian geographers developed the most accurate maps of Brazil.

A young Indian lawyer, Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa, engaged in correspondence with Leo Tolstoy, whom he admired and from whom he borrowed the idea of ​​non-violence.

All five countries were part of the anti-Hitler coalition during World War II, and together we celebrated the 70^th anniversary of the Great Victory. All countries together were fighting against apartheid in South Africa.

The Big Five ​​is not an invention of the 21^st century. It is a manifestation of an irreversible trend that is shifting the centre of gravity of the modern world from West to East and from North to South, from developed economies to developing economies.

Today, BRICS accounts for one-third of global GDP, 44 per cent of the global population, 40 per cent of internet users, more than 30 per cent of the earth's surface and half of global GDP growth over the past 10 years.

The five countries represent civilisational and continental centres of power and gravity. They do not need to prove the validity of their natural partnership to anyone. These are the countries that offer the world – and I’d like to emphasise this – a value system of their own. Our community advocates multi-polarity and multiplicity of development models, cultural diversity and other forms of diversity in the world, and the right of nations to choose their future.

The BRICS countries seek to strengthen the international law against the policy of unilateral military actions and to increase the central role of the United Nations and its Security Council.

We clearly see the need to look for answers to the challenges of modernisation, and we are looking for them as we work together in the most sensitive areas ranging from the defence industry and space exploration to information technology and nuclear power engineering.

BRICS is also instrumental in restoring global historical justice. We can benefit from our unity only if we become actors who initiate rules for the global economy, rather than follow ones that we didn’t make.

The gentle rise of the BRICS nations does not involve violence or hegemonic aspirations. Each of our countries and civilisations has its own cultural and political traditions and approaches to maintaining security. They believe that such diversity is a boon in and of itself and they do not interfere in the internal affairs of each other or other countries and take their partners the way they are as a result of centuries of their respective development. Therefore, BRICS has a chance to become a new model of global relations which will build above and beyond the old dividing lines, whether East-West or North-South.

Today, I represent not only the Russian parliament but also the BRICS Think Tanks Council and the BRICS Academic Forum, where I head the Russian delegation. The first panel of think tank experts was held in Moscow in 2008. Back then, experts from four countries discussed the possibility and the necessity of formalising the BRICS. But already at the second Academic Forum in 2009, we started talking about the need for a parliamentary dimension. I believe that today this dimension is quite natural, as are other 25 forums for interaction that include meetings of government leaders, foreign ministers, national security advisors, finance, trade, economy, and social affairs ministers, mayors, heads of chambers of commerce, and so on.

With regard to the Academic Forum and Think Tanks Council, they were formalised by summit decisions. The recent summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, in 2014, set the goal of drafting a strategy for further development of the BRICS, which was called The Strategic Vision for BRICS. This document includes 150 pages that were approved by consensus after major discussions and disputes, and this document will be presented to the leaders when they meet next month in Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan.

The think tanks continue to operate. Our Indian friends suggested discussing our future parliamentary cooperation at the expert level. The experts from five countries that have been authorised by the governments of five states to provide intellectual support to BRICS will meet again in Sochi this autumn. Perhaps, it would be wise to combine the formats for expert discussion and the debates about the parliamentary future. In this case, the secretaries of the parliamentary delegations or the MPs who are interested in this format could get together this autumn, tentatively in October, and decide on further steps not only for the BRICS as an organisation but also for our parliamentary forum. We will be pleased to welcome the representatives of the five parliaments again this year in Sochi.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you, Mr Nikonov, for providing this interesting historical background and sharing your feelings as a historian. Though I’m not a historian, but just the chair of the Russian Historical Society, I still want to say that I’m likewise satisfied to have this sense that I’m not only a witness but also an active participant of this important historical event, the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum, which starts off an important historical process: the parliamentary dimension of the BRICS. Thank you for your remarks.

We have one more speaker. I'll hand the microphone over to Member of the National Assembly of South Africa Geordin Hill-Lewis.

Geordin Hill-Lewis (via interpreter): Ladies and gentlemen, friends gathered here at this table, we, as the official opposition in South Africa, add our voice to the voices of those who have expressed their gratitude to the Parliament of the Russian Federation for their excellent hospitality and the warm welcome extended to us during this forum.

I was also pleased to hear today many of the speakers mentioning the 70^th anniversary of the defeat of Nazism, which brought untold tragedies to all our countries. We remember the many tens of thousands of lives South Africa lost in that war.

Nine of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world are part of the South. Some refer to them as emerging economies. According to statisticians, the middle class in Africa will grow dramatically in the next decade.

We believe that all states can benefit from growth in emerging economies, so that we can contribute to fighting unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment. We must be aware of the global economic circumstances.

In 1945, at the end of the terrible war, the global economy was dominated by the great powers of that time. A lot has changed over the past 70 years. The global economy today is much more diversified, and the world has become a much smaller place. Over the past 20 years, the countries that are represented at this table have done a lot to fight poverty and promote economic growth. There have been quite unprecedented events that have led to tremendous growth in China. We must do our best to maintain the current momentum. The potential of our future cooperation is enormous, and we must support this cooperation and intensify this work. For us, it should mean the following: there’s no such thing as too much effort. Our countries are located in all regions of the world. We must support and intensify this momentum and strengthen our cooperation.

On behalf of the official South African opposition, I’d like to thank you once again for making this meeting possible and for the effort behind the drafting of the final document. We add our voices in support of this cooperation. We are committed to our future success and we will achieve it.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you, Mr Hill-Lewis, for your important and meaningful remarks.

Colleagues, let’s go back to the approved final document that Mr Kosachev presented in detail 10 minutes ago, for which I’d like to thank him again.

Do heads of delegations have any comments regarding the final document? Ms Matviyenko, please go ahead.

Valentina Matviyenko: Yes. I have what I believe is an important comment. It came to me as I listened to the previous speaker from the South African opposition.

Colleagues, we are all aware of occasional heated debates in our respective parliaments between the ruling party and the opposition, or between MPs and senators of different political views. This is absolutely normal for parliaments. It is comforting to know that the national delegations include representatives of almost all political parties and forces represented in the parliaments. It is also comforting to see the unanimity and the political consensus, if you will, that has been expressed today in support of creating a forum of the BRICS parliaments. I believe it is an important political foundation for the active development of our new parliamentary forum. For this, I want to thank you all.

Sergei Naryshkin: Thank you, Ms Matviyenko. Do other delegation heads have any comments? Please go ahead, Mr Tharoor.

Shashi Tharoor (via interpreter): My colleagues from South Africa will agree on my editorial amendment: the word “have” is not a good choice here. I think that this word (“have”) shouldn’t be used too much as in “we have agreed,” or “we have done.” I think that editorial changes could be made to correct the wording and use something without the word “have”.

There’s also the definite article, which is occasionally used improperly. I have certain editorial comments. I believe they should be put together and passed over to the Russian delegation. Other than that, I have nothing to add on the subject matter.

Sergei Naryshkin: The Russian language doesn’t have structures that correspond to the word “have” in this sense. As a matter of fact, there are no articles in Russian, either. Thank you for your comments. Importantly, we have agreed on this document in substance and we have no disagreements on all the key provisions.

Regarding editorial changes, let’s agree with Mr Tharoor’s proposal and introduce these minor changes into the text. Any objections?

In this case, I’m entitled, on behalf of all the parliamentary delegations of the BRICS parliaments, to consider that the final document of the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum has been adopted.

This deserves a round of applause. Congratulations!

Dear colleagues, I would like to thank all of you for preparing and actively participating in the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum.

Despite the fact that, as was mentioned earlier, we, in our countries, have different political traditions and different legal systems, we were able to find a common language, which is corroborated by the final document of this parliamentary forum which we agreed upon and adopted. I’m grateful to all of you.

This ends the official part of the Parliamentary Forum. I’d like to invite the chairs of parliamentary chambers and heads of delegations for a group photo. At 3 pm, we will resume our dialogue, but this time informally. Thank you.