By Daria Belousova-Petrovskaya: St. Petersburg is hosting the 47 plenary session of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. Parliamentarians from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Russia will take part in the session.
The year 2018 was declared the year of culture in the CIS, so the main theme of the meeting is the intercultural dialogue in the Commonwealth. Also, this year St. Petersburg is hosting the Days of Minsk, so Russians will have a good opportunity to see the best Belarusian theatre productions and to visit exhibitions and food fairs.
The Assembly will also consider draft laws that have to do with information exchange and then discuss the topic of cooperation in tourism and sports - ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
Also, parliamentarians will consider joint scientific and education projects. Issues of international cooperation, economy, and security will be discussed as well.
At the same time, St. Petersburg is hosting the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly. The main topics there are the fight against terrorism, illegal drug trafficking, and countering hybrid wars. The agenda will also include the difficult situation at the borders of the CSTO member states.
