Photo courtesy of the House of Representatives
MINSK, 10 May (BelTA) - Indonesia is an important country in Southeast Asia for Belarus, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives Sergei Rachkov told the media on 10 May, BelTA has learned.
On 10 May, Chairman of the Standing Committee on International Affairs of the House of Representatives Sergei Rachkov, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Labor and Social Affairs of the House of Representatives, Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with the Parliament of Indonesia Irina Kostevich, Member of the Standing Committee on International Affairs and National Security of the Council of the Republic Aleksandr Lukyanov met with the Indonesian parliamentary delegation. The Indonesian delegation comprised Chairman of the Interparliamentary Cooperation Committee of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Republic of Indonesia Mardani Ali Sera and Chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group of Indonesia with the Parliament of Belarus Isfhan Taufik Munggaran. The parties discussed issues of bilateral cooperation.
“Indonesia is a long-standing friend of the Republic of Belarus. We have vibrantly-developing relations between the states, including in the parliamentary dimension. There are exchanges at the supreme and highest levels. Aleksandr Lukashenko paid an official visit to Indonesia, met with the leadership of this country several times on international platforms. We also have inter-parliamentary visits. Of course, we have a huge potential for the development of bilateral relations. Indonesia is an important country in Southeast Asia for us,” said Sergei Rachkov.
Indonesia's gross domestic product is more than $6 trillion. “In terms of purchasing power, Indonesia ranked seventh in the world among 198 countries last year. This shows the country's high economic, financial capabilities. Indonesia has always been among the most important countries for the development of trade and economic relations of the Republic of Belarus,” the MP said. “We have a great interest in supplying fertilizers and truck equipment to this market. Indonesia is interested and is now developing its fleet of electric public transport, and Belarus is strong in this area. These are the points of contact, points of growth, which can provide us with an increase in bilateral trade.”
“As far as parliamentary cooperation is concerned, we certainly complement each other. We cooperate in multilateral parliamentary diplomacy, on international platforms, especially within the framework of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,” Sergei Rachkov emphasized. “I will not hide it, during the assemblies of this largest inter-parliamentary structure there are issues that affect the direct interests of the Republic of Belarus, such as sanctions, attitude of primarily Western countries to our country. Indonesia is always on the side of the Republic of Belarus and always assists us in resolving certain difficult issues. We are discussing today, first of all, how we can use more parliamentary potential to promote our national interests in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia in general.”
Belarus actively cooperates with ASEAN countries. “The National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus is an observer in the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. We participate in these assemblies every year. The leader of our delegation is given the floor to speak at these assemblies. We hold bilateral dialogues with the ASEAN countries. These are 10 countries,” the MPs added. “We strive to support and implement interstate agreements with Indonesia as actively as possible. Here, we have very good prospects.”
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