Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 19 December (BelTA) – Belarus and Malaysia have a basis to advance political dialogue, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko said as he met with Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malaysia’s Parliament Pandikar Amin Mulia on 19 December.

“Today Belarus and Malaysia have the necessary basis to promote the political dialogue, bolster trade and economic ties and cooperation in culture, science, education and healthcare,” noted Vladimir Andreichenko.

“We have a huge untapped potential. We have concrete proposals and we are going to voice them today,” the Speaker added.

The Malaysian parliamentary delegation arrived in Belarus on 18 December. The visit will last through 23 December. The program of the visit includes a number of official meetings and tours of several Belarusian industrial companies. The Malaysian MPs will be able to see that the two countries have may areas of common interest and that Belarus is a reliable partner, Vladimir Andreichenko stressed.

The visit of the Speaker of the Malaysian Parliament is aimed at the further advancement of bilateral cooperation. Belarus highly appreciates bilateral and multilateral relations, including their parliamentary constituent, and interaction in the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA). Vladimir Andreichenko thanked the Malaysian MPs for support provided to the Belarusian National Assembly as it got the observer status in the AIPA in 2011. “We appreciate this very much and will continue doing our best to develop our cooperation in this organization. Belarus has always supported Malaysia’s bids during the elections to the bodies of international organizations. We will stay committed to this in future,” noted the Chairman of the House of Representatives.

For his part, Pandikar Amin Mulia stated that Belarus and Malaysia have always had warm relations and have supported each other in the international arena since the diplomatic relations were established in 1992.

The Speakers of Belarus and Malaysia signed a memorandum of inter-parliamentary cooperation between the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus and the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Malaysia. The parties exchanged presents. The Malaysian delegation was given a tour around the Oval Hall.