Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 20 July (BelTA) – In modern conditions it is impossible to effectively advance Belarus’ economic and cultural cooperation with the Republic of Korea without tighter interparliamentary relations. Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko made the statement as he met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Belarus Kim Yong Ho on 20 July, BelTA has learned.

Vladimir Andreichenko said: “Belarus sets a high value on the advancement of friendly and mutually beneficial relations with the Republic of Korea. For example, I can see that parliamentary diplomacy and a personal dialogue between the heads of the parliaments can play an exceptionally prominent role in it. It is thanks to the well-developed parliamentary relations that we can tackle many tasks, including high-priority ones, which are interesting both for the Republic of Korea and Belarus. There is no doubt that those are the development of trade and economic interaction, cultural cooperation, which we’ve been neglecting, cooperation in the area of education and, certainly, science. Particularly cooperation in the area of high technologies and the manufacturing of high-tech products. The Republic of Korea is a leader in this field.”

The head of the lower chamber of the Belarus parliament noted that friendship groups in the parliaments of the two countries are important for establishing interparliamentary relations and advancing the ties. “The group in Belarus is already operational. I hope a group of the kind will soon be formed in the recently elected parliament of Korea. All in all, we have all the grounds for further effective joint work. The relevant legal base has been created,” added the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly.

Vladimir Andreichenko reminded that Belarus and Korea have yet to sign the intergovernmental agreement on visa-free travels of Belarusian and Korean citizens using regular passports. The fact deters more vigorous cooperation between the countries to some extent. Vladimir Andreichenko asked Kim Yong Ho to facilitate faster signing of the relevant agreement.

In turn, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Belarus Kim Yong Ho stressed that the two countries have a lot in common. Both countries are neighbors to huge countries and have a large number of highly qualified specialists in the area of high technologies. These similarities should act as an additional incentive for tighter cooperation, including commercial cooperation. “In 2014 the Korean company SK Hynix invested $10 million in the Belarusian company Softeq Flash Solutions. The Korean private sector intends to continue the practice,” stressed Kim Yong Ho.

The Ambassador spoke in favor of fully exploring the potential of Belarusian-Korean cooperation in the area of information and communication technologies since the Republic of Korea is successful at manufacturing the hardware while Belarus could develop the relevant software.