Government commission approves topic of World Congress of Compatriots

Participants in the meeting of the Government Commission on the Affairs of Compatriots abroad approved a list of topics that will be discussed from October 26-27 at the World Congress of Compatriots in St. Petersburg, RIA Novosti reports referring to the deputy head of the Federal Agency for the CIS and Compatriots abroad, Georgy Muradov.

Muradov said that one of the main topics at the forthcoming congress will be the repatriation of compatriots living abroad and the granting of Russian citizenship to them.

The meeting of the Commission was held on Monday under the chairmanship of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

In addition to this theme the World Congress of Compatriots will discuss three sets of issues.

The first of four thematic sessions of the Congress will be devoted to strengthening ties between Russian compatriots abroad and their historical homeland.

The second section will be devoted to the preservation of ethnic and cultural identity of the Russian community abroad.

The most pressing issues will be discussed in the third section. It will be dedicated to protecting the rights of compatriots abroad and their interaction with civil society in their countries of residence. The debate is likely to be affected by the issue of discrimination of Russian compatriots in some EU member states, particularly in Latvia and Estonia.