On June 19 a meeting was held to plan and discuss the development of the youth dialogue between the two countries at the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Moscow. Chairperson of the National Youth Council Grigory Petushkov , his Adviser Ilya Zotov and the Press-secretary of the Association Elena Marchan represented the Russian side during the negotiations. Ambassador of Venezuela to the Russian Federation Carlos Faria Tortosa, Minister Counsellor Hoglis Jesus Martinez Nunez, Secretary General of the Youth Wing of the Communist Party of Venezuela «Communist Youth of Venezuela» Héctor Rodriguez, delegate from the party Jordan Gabriel and head of this organization’ headquarters in Russia Lewis Lay took part in the discussions.
Greeting the audience, the Chairperson of the National Council G. Petushkov stressed the importance of strengthening the existing friendly relations between the youth organizations of the two countries. «Of course, Russia and Venezuela cooperate in many areas — this is the scientific and technical industry, military and trade cooperation. But it is obvious that all this makes sense only if there is someone, who will pick up the baton in the future. Tomorrow’s dialogue begins today with youth organizations. That is why our joint work is so important,» he said.
Ambassador of Venezuela to the Russian Federation Carlos Faria Tortosa noted that it is difficult for him to underestimate the importance of the youth dialogue, because he was a pioneer and a member of the youth wing of the Communist Party himself . The diplomat stressed that 80 students from the Bolivarian Republic come to Russia every year, and in the future the number of quotas will expand.
An important place on the agenda of the meeting took the discussion of the results of the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students and the results of the meeting of the WFDY General Council in Nepal in May 2018. The two sides exchanged views on working with young people in the two countries and discussed the development of a Memorandum of Cooperation and Understanding between the National Youth Council and the Communist Youth of Venezuela. Concrete proposals were voiced, which can be implemented within the framework of this document.
