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Columbus Mabika-Herald Reporter

Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda at the weekend met the Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Mr Vyacheslav Volodin, to discuss issues affecting the two parliaments in a bid to strengthen the existing fraternal relations.

The two met on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Parliamentary Conference underway in Moscow.

The Conference ends today and ran under the theme; “Russia-Africa in a Multipolar World”, placing the centrality of multi-polarism and preponderance over uni-polarism.

Advocate Mudenda said Russia had always been an all-weather friend to Zimbabwe from the days of the liberation struggle when it supported the military struggle against colonialism through the provision of arms and moral support.

He also recounted how some luminaries in Zimbabwe’s quest for independence were trained in Russia, notably President Mnangagwa and others after him.

The discussions between the two Parliamentary leaders also focused on cementing Zimbabwe-Russia relations, with Chairman Volodin noting that this was the third time the two Parliamentary entities had met in six months.

 Chairman Volodin commended Advocate Mudenda for prioritising the conference as testified by him attending in person, adding that Russia remained committed to strengthening multilateral relations with all African countries.

There was also need for a just world order and a multipolar world where the rights of all nations were respected in spite of their economic stature or geographical size.

Chairman Volodin reiterated that illegal sanctions imposed on both nations by the West were unjustified.

Following the meeting, Advocate Mudenda was part of a three persons panel that moderated over the roundtable topic “legislative response to economic challenges”, where he laid the groundwork for the discussion when he articulated the Russia-Africa relations in contemporary times.