Vyacheslav Volodin: “Terrorism is the main threat to peace and security today. We can only fight it together, without ‘double standards’ and ‘hidden agendas,’ depriving terrorists of ideological ground and financial support.”

Speaking at the opening of the Second Forum Development of Parliamentarism, Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, stressed the need for constructive communication among parliamentarians in countering international terrorism.
According to the CSTO PA Chairman, “through constructive communication and discussion of the relevant agenda, not only do we find mutual understanding, but we also solve many issues in the development of parliamentarism in our countries and increase the efficiency of cooperation on issues that require joint solutions.” Namely, the issues of sustainable development, international security, environmental protection, fighting poverty and inequality, countering terrorism, drug trafficking and illegal migration.
Vyacheslav Volodin stressed that “the main threat to peace and security today is terrorism. Bloody acts of terrorism in different parts of the world do not stop. No country in the world is immune to them. It is a universal evil. We can only fight it together. Without ‘double standards’ and ‘hidden agendas,’ depriving terrorists of ideological ground and financial support.”
Mr Volodin urged his colleagues to work on the adoption of model laws in such areas as combating terrorism, drug trafficking and illegal migration, and drew attention, in particular, to the need to create a single list of terrorist organizations so that they could not escape responsibility in any country.
Another topic which the CSTO PA Chairman highlighted and on which parliamentarians of all countries should work together is the protection of digital sovereignty.
“This is a strategic challenge, for lawmakers as well. Work to that effect is one of today’s priorities.”
“We see the cases of interference in the work of energy systems, banking sector, critical infrastructure facilities and election campaigns of a number of countries. Therefore, our task is to ensure our own digital sovereignty, to protect the information space,” said Vyacheslav Volodin.
At the same time, he stressed that it is also necessary to work together to develop the digital economy as the economy of the future. In his opinion, this may become one of the “key areas of inter-parliamentary cooperation.”
The CSTO PA Chairman is convinced that “in a rapidly changing world, legislators need to be ahead of the curve, promote innovative national and international legal regulation, anticipate changes.”
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