MINSK, 20 December (BelTA) – Chairman of the House of Representatives of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko said that parliamentary friendship groups have come to play a bigger role in promoting international cooperation. He made this statement at the closing of the fifth session of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, BelTA has learned.
“As the image of Belarus and its parliament on the international arena has improved, the dynamics and quality of bilateral contacts have changed. It is important that parliamentary friendship groups tend to work on specific issues and adopt a businesslike approach to expanding business contacts, trade and economic cooperation,” Vladimir Andreichenko said.
The most tangible results were achieved with partners from Germany, Czechia and Switzerland. The more European politicians learn about Belarus, the more prospects they see for mutually beneficial cooperation. A testimony to that is an active dialogue with members of the European Parliament, Vladimir Andreichenko added.
He mentioned a number of high-profile visits to Belarus. One of them is the recent meeting between the presidents of Belarus and Sudan that took the bilateral relations to a new level. This is proved by contracts worth a quarter of billion dollars and the signing of a substantial package of intergovernmental agreements.
“Naturally, MPs should also get involved in implementing these agreements. We discussed it at the meeting with the president of Sudan. We also came to conclusion that our relations will greatly benefit from establishing a dialogue with the Pan-African Parliament,” Vladimir Andreichenko added.
An international conference of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Silk Road Support Group is scheduled to take place in Minsk in spring 2019. Belarusian MPs should succeed in promoting Belarus as a key link on the Eurasian economic space, the chairman of the House of Representatives added. To do this, the MPs should take advantage of their participation in the forthcoming events of interparliamentary organizations. The agenda of interparliamentary contacts will be packed in the coming months. The Belarusian delegation will participate in the winter session of the OSCE PA in Vienna, the PACE session in Strasbourg. Apart from that, Saint Petersburg will host the 49th plenary session of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly in April.
