MINSK, 24 November (BelTA) – The Belarusian parliamentary delegation led by Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova is paying an official visit to Russia on 24-25 November on the invitation of Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly Valentina Matviyenko. The two speakers held talks one-on-one and with the participation of the delegations on 24 November. The parties considered a wide range of issues related to the Belarusian-Russian cooperation, BelTA has learned.
“It is a great honor for us to be here in the Federation Council today, to talk to our counterparts, to take stock of progress made in the development of our cooperation. We have a lot to say to each other, because today Belarus and Russia are not just friendly countries but strategic partners that build their relationship in all areas of life: politics, economy, humanitarian affairs. Inter-parliamentary ties and contacts are of great importance to us. Today, the role of each MP must be more significant, because we have to confront all the challenges together, that unprecedented attack that is unleashed today by the collective West against our countries and peoples. We must stay united. This is what our President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the CSTO summit in Yerevan yesterday,” Natalya Kochanova said.
The speaker added that the visit of the Belarusian parliamentary delegation is taking place in the year when the two countries are celebrating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. “Of course, it is a significant milestone. Absolutely right decisions were made, which give us results today, were made 30 years ago. There is no doubt about that. We have made serious progress in the integration processes today thanks to the 28 programs that were adopted at the Supreme State Council in November 2021. Today, these programs are a reality, and more than 50% of the planned activities have already been implemented. There are more than 900 of them in total,” the chairperson of the Council of the Republic said.
“Belarusian delegations pay frequent visits to Russia, and so do our Russian counterparts in respect to Belarus. We have no contradictions, we have the same historical roots – this is what connects us. Most importantly, our people understand this today. It is very important for all of us today to oversee and implement these 28 Union State programs, programs worked out for the benefit of our peoples and countries. We have to adopt bills to develop them. We are already working on it. Yesterday we had a parliamentary session and ratified a number of agreements with the Russian Federation,” Natalya Kochanova said.
Photos courtesy of the Federation Council
