Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 3 April (BelTA) – The successful organization of the 26^th OSCE PA summer session in Minsk is a matter of national honor, Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko said at the opening of the Belarusian parliamentary spring session on 3 April, BelTA has learned.

“The successful organization of this important forum is a matter of national honor. MPs, in close cooperation with all the stakeholders, should do their best to provide politicians from more than 50 countries with conditions meeting the highest international standards. It is one of the most important factors to strengthen inter-parliamentary ties with our European partners. Our current dialogue with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, including the results of the talks with Andrea Rigoni, Rapporteur on Belarus of the Political Affairs and Democracy Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the level of relations with the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, and also the momentum in bilateral contacts, testify to the fact that there are grounds for stepping up such cooperation,” the speaker said.

According to him, the proposal to host this large-scale event in Minsk points to positive assessment of the participation of the Belarusian delegation in the OSCE PA and the recognition of the country’s contribution to securing peace and stability in the region.

Vladimir Andreichenko also stressed that another important area for the MPs’ efforts is to strengthen strategic partnership in the Eurasian space. Belarusian MPs took an active part in the parliamentary events of the CIS, the CSTO, and the Union State.

“Yesterday we marked the Day of Unity of Peoples of Belarus and Russia. This holiday is a strong motive to think about the future of our integration. At the previous session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Belarus-Russia Union State there was a straight talk about the problems Belarus and Russia have. The next, 52^nd session of the Union State parliament will take place in Belarus in June 2017. It is important to organize the work in a proper manner so that its results could help us advance in the implementation of the coordinated industrial policy, create equal conditions for economic entities, elaborate unified tariffs for energy carriers and settle other important issues on the bilateral agenda,” the Chairman of the House of Representatives said.

In his words, the Belarusian parliament is in for busy months of visit exchanges. Belarus is expected to host the parliamentary delegations of India, China, Pakistan and Poland. The Belarusian parliament is gearing up for a visit to Pakistan which is due to take place in the second half of April. The program of the visit will include agreements reached by the presidents of the two countries. Belarusian businessmen will travel to Islamabad together with MPs to take part in the first Belarusian-Pakistani agricultural forum.