International parliamentary organisations

Deputies of the State Duma participate in the work of a significant number of international parliamentary organisations.

Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA)

Year of foundation — 2006.

Number of participating states — 44.

Statutory document — Charter, Rules of Procedure.

Governing bodies — Plenary (annually), the Executive Council (biannually).

President — Sahiba GAFAROVA (Speaker of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan).

Secretary general — Mohammad Reza Majidi (Iran).

Number of representatives of the Federal Assembly — 5 members (5 from the State Duma, 5 from the Federation Council). Delegation members selection depends on the conference subject.

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation — Petr Tolstoy. 

Barents Parliamentary Conference (BPC)

Since 12 March 2022 Russian parliaments has been temporarily suspended from the work of the BPC.

Year of foundation — 1997.

Number of members — 7 (6 national parliaments and the European Parilament).

Statutory document — Kirkenes Declaration of 1993.

Organizational structure — The Barents Parliamentary Conference (is held once every 2 years).

The BPC Chair — President of the parliament holding the next Conference.

The Secretariat — in the Parliament of the country holding the presidency.

Permanent delegation of the Federal Assembly — permanent delegation is composed of 5 deputies of the State Duma formed not established permanent (jointly with BPC). 

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation and Head of the Delegation — Irina Yarovaya.

The budget — not established.

Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Year of foundation — 1889.

Nubmer of state members — 180.

Statutory document – Statutes and Rules of the IPU.

Governing bodies — Assembly, Governing Council, Executive Council, (according to the Statuses of the IPU, meetings are held biannually).

Number of representatives of the Federal Assembly — 10 (5 of the State Duma, 5 of the Federal Assembly).

Annual budget — consists of member states annual contributions and publishing activities. The Federal Assembly's contribution in 2024 amounted to 255 700 swiss franc. According to the agreement between the houses, the State Duma pays the contribution.

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation — Petr Tolstoy.

Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IA CIS)

First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation — Ivan Melnikov

Year of foundation — 1992.

Statutory document — Agreement on the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (1992), Convention on IPA CIS (1995), IPA CIS Regulations.

Number of participating states — 8 (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan).

Number of members — not regulated.

Number of annual sessions — 2 (extraordinary sessions can be held if required).

Governing bodies — IPA CIS Council (consists of the Speakers of the member Parliaments), Chairman of the IPA CIS Council (elected by members of the Council for a one year term). 

The Federal Assembly representation in the governing bodies — Valentina Matvienko (the Speaker of the Federation Council) — Chairman of the IPA CIS Council. Chairman of the State Duma is a member of the IPA CIS Council.

Organizational structure — IPA CIS Council, Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, the IPA CIS Council Secretariat, 10 permanent commissions and 1 united comission (the IPA CIS Council Secretariat is located in Saint-Petersburg), Youth IPA. 

Principle of decision-making — on the basis of consensus. 

Status of the Federal Assembly — member since 1992. 

Number of representatives of the Federal Assembly — not regulated (The State Duma set for itself the number of 43 people with representation from all 5 factions; the Federation Council — 22 people).

Annual budget – formed by member states contributions.

Status in international organizations – permanent observer at Parliamentary Assembly of the Belarus-Russia Union State; observer at CSTO PA, PABSEC, IPU and the Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Member States.

Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO)

By decision of the Council of the State Duma of July 12, 2023, participation is suspended. 

Year of establishment — 1993.

Number of state members — 25.

Statutory document — Manifesto of the participants.

Governing bodies — The meeting of the General Assembly (is held annually), President of the General Assembly (elected from members of the Assembly for two years), the Secretariat, committees.

President of the IAO — Eugeniusz Czykwin (Poland)

Secretary general — Maximos Charakopoulos (Greece).

Number of representatives of the Federal Assembly — 8 (6 of the State Duma, 2 of the Federal Assembly). 

Head of the delegation — the deputy of the State Duma.

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation and Head of the delegation — Anna Kuzhetsova.

Annual budget – consists of member states contributions. The Federal Assembly's contribution in 2022 amounted to 200 thousand euro. According to the agreement between the houses, the State Duma pays the contribution. On July 12, 2023, the Council of the State Duma decided to suspend payments of contributions to the IAP budget.

Nordic Council (NC)

In March 2022 the Nordic Council of Ministers suspended cooperation with Russia

Year of foundation — 1952.

Number of participating states — 5. The Federal Assembly of Russian Federation has observer status.

Statutory document — Rules of Procedure (were revised on 27 October 2005).

Governing bodies — Presidium (consists of the President of the Nordic Council, Vice-President and 12 representatives), Committees – 5 relevant (Knowledge and Culture; Welfare; Sustainable Nordic region; growth and Development), Control Committee, Election Committee.

Headquarter is located in Denmark (Copenhagen).

President — The parliamentarian of the state holding a regular session. Vice president (term of office is 1 year, re-elected at the annual Nordic Council session).

Number of representatives of the Federal Assembly — 10 (5 of the State Duma, 5 of the Federation Council).

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation and Gead of the delegation — I.Yarovaya.

Russian Federation participates annual programmes ''Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe''.

Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC)

Year of foundation — 1993.

Number of state members — 13.

Statutory document — PABSEC Rules of Procedure.

Number of deputies — 81.

Governing bodies — General Assembly, Standing Committee, the Bureau (according to PABSEC Rules of Procedure, meets biannually).

PABSEC President — the Speaker of the Parliament of a member state is elected for a period of six months, rotation is arranged in English alphabetical order.

PABSEC Secretary-General — Asaf Hajiyev, Azerbaijan.

Number of representatives of the Federal Assembly — 12 delegates: 8 members of the State Duma, 4 members of the Federation Council. By decision of the Council of the State Duma of November 23, 2023, participation is suspended.

Annual budget — consists of member states annual contributions. The Federal Assembly's contribution in 2022 amounted to 256429 euro. According to the agreement between the houses, the State Duma makes the contribution. Payment of the contribution from 2023 is not carried out.

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation, the Head of the delegation — Aleksander Babakov.

Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO PA)

Year of foundation — 2006.

Statutory document — Provisional Regulations on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (2007), Regulations of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (2008).

Number of state members — 6 (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan). 

Observers — The National Assembly of Serbia, Parliamentary Assembly of the Belarus-Russia Union State.

Number of deputies — Not regulated (the number of members of the parliamentary delegation should ensure representation of each Parliament in the CSTO PA working bodies).

Number of annual sessions – At least biannually.

Governing bodies — Council of CSTO PA, Chairperson of the Council of CSTO PA (elected for three years on a rotating basis).

The Federal Assembly representation in the governing bodies — Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin is the Chairman of CSTO PA.

Organizational structure — Council of CSTO PA (Speakers of the Parliaments of members states), Chairperson of the Council of CSTO PA , three standing committees (on defence and security; on political affairs and international cooperation; on socioeconomic and legal affairs). Organizational, technical and other support for CSTO PA is assigned to the Secretariat of the Council of IPA CIS, which has a specialized office in the organizational structure headed by the Executive Secretary of CSTO PA.

Principle of decision-making — On the basis of consensus.

Status of the Federal Assembly — Member since 2006.

Permanent delegation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation — 21 persons (10 senators of the Russian Federation and 11 deputies of the State Duma (including Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin).

Annual budget – is formed on the basis of the share participation of CSTO member states funded through resources from the account specially opened by the Secretariat of the IPA CIS Council.

Status in international organizations – observer at the UN, in the IPU.

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation — Sholban Kara-ool

Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA)

Year of foundation — 1991.

Number of state members — 57.

Statutory document — Madrid Document (1991), Rules of Procedure.

Governing bodies — Standing Committee consisting of the President of the Assembly, 9 Vice-Presidents (three-years term), the Treasurer (two-year term), the President Emeritus (previous), the Officers of the General Committees, heads of the national delegations.

The Bureau consists of the President, 9 Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer, the Officers of the General Committees, the President Emeritus (non-voting member).

Organizational structure — Plenary session of the Assembly, Standing Committee, Bureau, extended Bureau, three General Committees: on Political Affairs and Security, on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment, on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions.

Status of the Federal Assembly — Member since 1991. By decision of the Council of the State Duma of February 12, 2024, participation is suspended.

Number of representatives of the Federal Assembly — 15 parliamentarians (10 State Duma’s members, the delegation is formed on a factional basis and works on an ongoing basis, and 5 members of the Federation Council).

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation – Petr Tolstoy.

Annual sessions and autumn meetings are held on the basis of rotation in one of the participating States, respectively, in the first decade of July and in September-October, winter meetings in February in Vienna (Austria).

Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia (PA UBR)

Agreement on the Parliamentary Meeting of Community of Belarus and Russia was signed on 29 April 1996.

Parliamentary Assembly consists of deputations, formed by the National Assembly of Belarus and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation respectively.

Number of deputies – 72. Number of representatives of the Federal Assembly — 36 deputies (24 members of the State Duma and 9 members of the Federal Council).

President of Parliamentary Assembly — Vyacheslav Volodin (from 26 December 2016).

14 permanent committees are currently formed.

The Scientific Advisory Council and the Youth Chamber were established under the PA UBR.

The Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF)

Year of establishment — 1993.

Number of participating states — 28.

Statutory document —The 1994 Tokyo Declaration.

Organizational structure — Annual meeting of the APPF, Executive committee (8 countries representatives) — from all 4 subregions (North-East Asia, South-East Asia, Oceania, America) which are involved in the APPF executive comittee, working parties.

The APPF president — Chairman of the Parlament of the country of the next forum.

Status of the Federal Assembly — Member since 1993. The quota of the delegation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation at sessions is not regulated. The permanent delegation of the State Duma is composed of 5 deputies.

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation — Sholban Kara-ool.

The Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (CPAR)

Since March 2022, the work of the CPAR has been temporarily suspended.

Year of establishment — 1993.

Number of state members — 8.

Statutory document — Rules of Procedure of 1999.

Organizational structure — CPAR (is held once every two years). The Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region. 

The CPAR Chair — 2021–2023 — Mrs. Aaja Chemnitz Larsen.

The delegation of Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation — 10 members ( 5 from the State Duma, 5 from the Federation Council). 

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation and Head of the Delegation — Irina Yarovaya.

ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA)

Year of foundation – 1977.

Number of participating states – 10. The Federal Assmbly of the Russian Federation is an observer since 1989.

Statutory document – Agreement of 1977.

Number of annual sessions – one.

Governing bodies — AIPA President (as a rule, the Speaker of the national Parliament of the country hosting the next General Assembly), the Executive Committee.

Organizational structure — AIPA President, Permanent Secretariat (located in Jakarta)

President of the Assembly — as a rule, the President of the National Parliament of the country holding the Ordinary General Assembly. This position is currently held by Xaysomphone Phomvihane (Laos)

The quota of the delegation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation at sessions is not regulated. Permanent delegation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation is not formed.

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation — Petr Tolstoy

APU African Parliamentary Union

Year of foundation — 1976

Number of countries — 41, APU member states are represented by delegations consisting of members of national parliaments.

Structure: 

- The Conference of Speakers. It is the highest organ of the Union. It is composed of Speakers of National Parliaments or their representatives. It meets once a year in ordinary session

- The Executive Committee is composed of three members from each National Group elected for a two-year term. The Chairperson of the Executive Committee is a Speaker of a National Parliament. The Executive Committee meets twice a year in ordinary session. One of the two sessions takes place immediately prior to the Conference.

- The General Secretariat is the main liaison organ between national groups and the Union as well as between the Union and international organisations. 

Headquarters are in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Since november 2022, the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation has the status of an observer in APS.

Permanent delegation of the State Duma is composed of 14 deputies of the State Duma, head of the delegation — Leonid Slutsky.

Latin American Parliament (LAP)

Year of foundation — 1964

Number of countries — 23

Number of deputies — 276 (the parliament of each country has 12 representatives with the right to vote in PARLATINO)

Statutory documents — Statute of the Latin American Parliament and Rules of Procedure

Governing body — the Assembly of the Latin American Parliament (the session is convened once a year)

Structure — Steering Council, Presidium (elected for 2 years), standing committees, General Secretariat

The headquarters is located in Panama (Republic of Panama)

Status of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation — guest of honor (since 2013)

November 14, 2013 Chairman of the State Duma S.E. Naryshkin, Chairman of the Federation Council V.I. Matvienko and Chairman of the Latin American Parliament E.A. Castillo Gonzalez signed an Agreement on Cooperation between the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the Latin American Parliament

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation — I.I. Melnikov

Delegations of the State Duma took part in the sessions of the PARLATINO General Assembly in October 2013, December 2016, November 2017.

The Mercosur Parliament PARLASUR

Year of foundation — 2005 (the first session was held on 7 May 2007).

Number of participating states — 5 (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela; currently Bolivia is now in the process of becoming a full member).

Associate members — 6 (Guyana, Colombia, Peru, Suriname, Chile, Ecuador).

Statutory document — the Constitutive Protocol.

Governing body — The Governing Council, which consists of the President and vice presidents from each member state (elected for 2 years, with the right of one re-election).

Organizational structure — The Governing Council, 10 Permament Commissions, 4 Secretariats.

The form of the work — monthly plenary meetings.

The headquarter is located in Montevideo (Uruguay).

The Cooperation Agreement between The Fedetal Assembly of Russian Federation and the Mercosur Parliament has been in effect since 2010 year.

Thomas Enrique Bittar Navarro, the president of the Governing Council participated in the International Forum ”Development of Parliamentarism“, which was held in Moscow, on 4–5 June 2018.

The Central American Parliament (CAP)

Year of foundation — 1987

Number of countries — 6 (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic).

The number of deputies — 132 (22 deputies from each country).

Statutory document — the Statute of the Central American Parliament.

Governing body — the Plenary Assembly (congress).

Structure — Steering Board (consisting of the Chairman, 5 deputies and 6 executive secretaries), 13 standing committees.

The headquarters is located in Guatemala (Republic of Guatemala).

On July 2, 2019, on the sidelines of the Second International Forum ”Development of Parliamentarism“ in Moscow, the President of PARLACEN I. Amaya Echeverria signed an Agreement on Cooperation between the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the Central American Parliament. On July 2, 2019, the delegation met with Chairman of the State Duma V.V. Volodin.

The delegation of the Central American Parliament headed by its Chairman took part in the work of the first International Forum ”Development of Parliamentarism“ in Moscow in June 2018. Melnikov.

A delegation of PARLACEN, headed by its Chairman, participated in the International Parliamentary Forum “Russia — Latin America” in October 2023. 

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation — I. I. Melnikov.

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP)

Year of foundation — 2004.

Number of member states — 55.

Statutory documents — Sirte Declaration (1999), a Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (2001), a Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the African Union (2014,in the process of ratification).

Governing bodies — The Plenary, the President, the Bureau, which consists of the President and 4 vice-presidents.

Organisational structure — The Plenary, the President, the Bureau, Permanent Committees, the Secretariat.

The budget — is a part of the African Economic Community (the African Union) budget.

The Plenary meeting is arranged twice a year (each member state sends a delegation of five parliamentarians to the Parliament, at least one of whom must be a woman).

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma responsible for cooperation — Alexander Babakov.