Speaker of the National Assembly Rt Hon Justice Dr Patrick Matibini, SC, FCIARB, MP, has reiterated the need for Zambia and Russia to increase their scope of collaboration.

Speaking when the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Konstantin Kozhanov paid a courtesy call on him on Monday, 21st May, 2018 at Parliament Buildings in Lusaka, Speaker Matibini said the two countries need to further relations in areas such as agriculture, trade and the advanced nuclear energy. “Russia has greatly advanced in the production of Veterinary medicine which could be beneficial to our pastoral peasant farmers who face challenges with animal diseases,” said Dr Matibini. He added that in light of Zambia’s quest to diversify its economy, it is imperative that the country learns from the robust agricultural programmes in Russia.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Konstantin Kozhanov thanked the Speaker for the continued good relations expressed by his visit to Russia. He noted that the two countries have cooperated well in the area of education and look forward to the success of the recently signed agreement on the construction of a Center for Nuclear Science and Technology.

Dr Matibini was recently in Russia on an official visit to consolidate the Russia-Zambia inter-parliamentary relations. During his visit, Speaker Matibini visited the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture and the Moscow Region Parliament (Duma). In addition, Dr Matibini met with his counterpart the Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly Hon Valentina Matviyenko and addressed the Plenary Session of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly among other engagements.