MINSK, 18 May (BelTA) – Venezuela is a key partner for Belarus in Latin America, Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko said as he met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Venezuela to Belarus Franklin Ramirez Araque, BelTA has learned.
“Our meetings in the parliament are becoming a good tradition. This, of course, is beneficial for promoting bilateral cooperation and building closer political, trade, economic, and humanitarian ties. I would like to note that Venezuela is a key, promising partner for Belarus in the Latin American region. And, of course, we greatly value the friendship between our countries and peoples. Last year the presidents of our countries appointed special envoys, they exchanged visits. Plans have been outlined to intensify intergovernmental relations, to restart economic projects - we have set up joint ventures in mechanical engineering, agriculture, and construction. It is important that these special envoys charted out specific cooperation plans,” Vladimir Andreichenko said.
The speaker noted that the bilateral inter-parliamentary cooperation is also gaining momentum. “The other day I received a message from the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela with a request to restart the interplanetary working groups. We discussed this issue during the visit of Adan Chavez in 2021 and during a meeting in the parliament. I fully share the opinion of the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela that we need to intensify the inter-parliamentary dialogue between Belarus and Venezuela. Our relations have always been based on respect, solidarity, friendship, and support in inter-parliamentary organizations. For our part, we are also putting together such a working group. Its composition will be finalized in the very near future. And we will submit the list of the working group members to the Venezuelan side through diplomatic channels,” he emphasized.
“Upon completion of this organizational work, I think it would be appropriate to hold an online meeting between the heads of the working groups and make plans for the further contacts between the parliaments,” Vladimir Andreichenko added.
“I am very happy about the progress in inter-parliamentary cooperation and interaction in other areas,” the ambassador said. “I absolutely share your opinion that the appointment by the presidents of the special envoys contributed to the restart of relations between our states. It was thanks to these appointments that the eighth session of the Belarus-Venezuela high-level commission was held in Caracas in December 2021 that charted out plans for 2022. We believe that the work done will pave the way for the meetings at the highest level. We hope that it will be possible to hold an economic forum on the sidelines of the next session of the Belarus-Venezuela high-level commission. We are also optimistic about prospects of arranging a meeting of the heads of state this year. Of course, the creation of the working group to promote cooperation between the two parliaments is a very important thing for us. This is another step to strengthen our interaction on the political front,” the diplomat said.
