MINSK, 22 November (BelTA) - Belarusian MPs are taking part in the 58th plenary session of the General Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), which is held as a video conference, BelTA has learned.
“The Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation was established in 1993. It comprises 12 countries, including such major ones as Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It also comprises six more observer countries, including Belarus, and also 15 international organizations, including the CIS Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the State Union of Belarus and Russia and a number of others. I believe that interparliamentary organizations play an enormous role among institutions on the global political stage. The voice of MPs can be heard in all sectors: economics, politics, an in the international agenda,” said Chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Economy, Budget and Finance of the Council of the Republic Tatiana Runets.
According to the senator, the interparliamentary assemblies address issues in all spheres of life. “The most pressing one at the moment is the fight against COVID-19. MPs together with international organizations are thinking about how to vaccinate the population, how many should be vaccinated to stop this pandemic. According to statistics, 40% of the world's population should be vaccinated this year. The figure should reach 60% in H1 2022. Another topic on the agenda is the fight against hunger. According to the UN, about 9% of the world's population suffer from hunger or lack of food. In 2021 this figure increased by 1% compared to 2019. This topic is also very important for the parliamentary agenda and for the countries of the world in general. In addition, MPs discuss the migration crisis, the fight against terrorism, and cybercrime,” she stressed.
There are 11 issues on the agenda today. “There are issues of organizational nature. Economic cooperation of the Black Sea region is an important topic. It is no secret that these countries are important for the economic development of all countries, including Belarus. Cooperation in education will also be considered. Belarus has agreements in education with virtually all Black Sea countries. The pharmaceutical industry will also be touched upon in the context of the fight against the pandemic. An important and relevant topic of today's session will be scientific and technical cooperation, the topic of digitalization. We will listen to and study the experience of other countries,” Tatiana Runets added.
