11th Parliamentary Conference of Baltic Sea Countries Opens in St. Petersburg Today

The 11th parliamentary conference of countries of the Baltic Sea opens in St. Petersburg today at the headquarters of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. According to the Assembly's press centre, the main aim of the event will be to develop new ideas for strengthening cooperation between national parliaments and regional assemblies in the Baltic Sea area.

Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov, Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznev and Sergei Tarasov, the speaker of the St. Petersburg lawmaking assembly are expected to speak at the conference.

The idea of holding such a conference was first put forward by former Finnish President Kalevi Sorsa. The first forum was held on his initiative in 1991.