Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 21 September (BelTA) – The House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus hopes to intensify cooperation with the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino), Belarus’ Vice Speaker Boleslav Pirshtuk said at the meeting with the Parlatino delegation led by President Elias Castillo on 21 September, BelTA has learned.

The parties expressed mutual interest in developing cooperation. “We hope and expect that our relations will become more active,” Boleslav Pirshtuk said.

According to the vice speaker, the National Assembly and the Parlatino need to intensify bilateral cooperation.

“We have enough proposals that will be mutually beneficial and useful to the two sides,” the vice speaker of the House of Representatives said.

Latin America is a dynamically developing area, one of the growth poles of the world economy. This explains Belarus’ high interest in the region. Boleslav Pirshtuk expressed hope that the negotiations with the Parlatino delegation would help outline the most promising cooperation areas. “This can be done in different areas, not only in the parliamentary dimension, but also in other sectors,” he added.

The program of activities includes visits to a number of enterprises. The Latin American MPs will get familiar with the industrial potential of Belarus. Boleslav Pirshtuk spoke about the export promotion instruments that partners from Latin America can use, and also commodities which Latin America can be interested in. The parties also discussed cooperation prospects in IT and the humanitarian area.

Elias Castillo suggested developing cooperation in education. In his words, Latin American MPs are ready to provide young specialists from Belarus with the opportunity to undergo internship at the Parlatino.

The visit of the delegation of the Latin American Parliament led by President Elias Castillo to Belarus will last through 24 September.

An agreement on cooperation between the National Assembly and the Parlatino was signed in Minsk in 2016. Under the document the Belarusian parliament received a status of the permanent observer. The National Assembly of Belarus set up a delegation to develop contacts with the Latin American Parliament. The delegation is led by Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Boleslav Pirshtuk.

The Latin American Parliament was instituted in Lima, Peru on 10 December 1964 by representatives of 14 national parliaments of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean Islands. The main purpose of the Parlatino is to promote harmonization of the legislation of the Latin American countries in such areas as education, healthcare, environmental protection and the fight against drug-related crimes.