Lok Sabha Speaker meets Russian Duma Chairman

St Petersburg, Oct 14 : Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan met Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin on the margins of the 137th Session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) here, an official statement said on Saturday.

The two leaders had "a very pleasant" interaction and discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral relations, an Lok Sabha release said on Saturday

Mahajan fondly recalled her visit to the Russia along with a parliamentary delegation in July this year and having the opportunity to address the State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament.

The release said that both the countries have constituted their respective Parliamentary Friendship Groups. 

Mahajan thanked Russia for its support for India's membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. 

She said that the 'Raisina Dialogue' will be held during the forthcoming visit of the Russian Parliamentary delegation to India.

IPU is global organisation of national parliaments, and has 173 members at present.