Russian parliament chairman views Lok Sabha proceedings

New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS) Russia's State Duma Chairman Sergei Naryshkin, on a two-day official visit to India, Thursday witnessed proceedings of the Lok Sabha and was introduced to the house by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

Naryshkin, who is to give a talk Friday at the Observer Research Foundation, is here to facilitate “inter-parliamentary cooperation and interaction in the framework of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)”.

The presiding officer of the Russian parliament's lower house and his delegation sat in a separate enclosure in the house as the Railway Budget was presented.

According to Duma's department for public relations and mass media, Naryshkin is to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari. He will also participate in the third session of the Russian-Indian parliamentary commission.

He will take part in roundtables on issues of Russian-Indian cooperation in the framework of BRICS and on historical and cultural aspects of bilateral relations, the department added.

The Duma's International Affairs Committee chairman Alexey Pushkov is also part of the Russian delegation.

The upper house of Russia's bicameral Federal Assembly is the Federation Council.