Accra, Dec. 17, GNA- Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey Speaker of Parliament, on Wednesday appealed to the Russian Federation to restore its generosity in the area of training programs for Ghanaian students as a way of strengthening the long-standing Ghana-Russian relations. He made the appeal when he inaugurated the Ghana-Russian Parliamentary Association (GRPA) in Accra.

The Association was formed as a result of talks between members of parliament and their counterparts from the State Duma (Russian Parliament) during a visit of the Russians to Ghana in June this year. Mr. Adjetey noted that Ghana benefited from the former Soviet Union in the area of training in medicine, engineering and others, adding that since the Russian Federation came into being 10 years ago, there has been some laxity in the training support from Russian.

'We hope that as we restore our relations through the formation of the GRPA, you will increase the tempo of support in that area," he said. "We expect that the formation of the association will also boost political, socio-economic and cultural relations as well as mutual friendship between our two countries."

Dr. Valery Orlov, Russian Ambassador to Ghana said the inauguration of the GRPA practically coincided with two significant events in the political life of Russia, being the elections of deputies into the State Duma and the 10th anniversary of the Constitution of the Russian Federation on December 12, 2003.

He expressed the hope that the formation of the GRPA will add new dimensions and give strong impetus to the relations between the two countries and that the traditional relationships, friendship and mutual understanding between Ghana and Russian Federation will deepen consistently in the interest of the two nations.

Nana Asante Frempong, NPP-Kwabre and Chairman of the GRPA, noted that the constitutions of Ghana and the Russian Federation are almost the same age, saying that on that score the two countries have things in common, having to work with a relative young democratic regime. He said parliament has a critical role to play in ensuring that democracy does not remain a political jargon but became a reality in the lives of the electorate, adding that members of the associate must work at improving the lot of the electorate to ensure their effective participation in the democratic process.