The Session Of The Council Of The Inter-European Parliamentary Forum For Population And Development Has Opened In The State Duma

The session of the Council of the Inter-European Parliamentary Forum for Population and Development opened on Monday in the building of the State Duma in Moscow. Chairman of the State Duma Gennady Seleznev pointed out at the opening of the session the urgency for Russia of the problems under discussion - "the lowering of the birth rate and the growth of mortality, the spread of AIDS, sexual exploitation of women and children." According to him, Russia is going to take part in international efforts for resolving these problems. The State Duma Chairman added that representatives of the Duma's committee for health protection and sports would inform the Council's session participants about the state of affairs in these spheres in the Russian Federation. About 30 countries, including the USA, Canada, Japan and South Africa, are members of the Council of the Inter-European Parliamentary Forum for Population and Development.