Opinions & Interviews

According to Sergei Rakhmanov, MPs should focus on trade and economic contacts in the work with foreign countries. “This is the basis of economic and national security in general,” he said. This was repeatedly said by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. The topic was also touched upon in the president’s recent State of the Nation Address.

According to the chairman of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic, senators usually go beyond the normative base during meetings with foreign counterparts and try to consider the matter in its essence. The discussions always touch upon concrete projects and areas. In this way, MPs help the executive power and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish direct contacts and address economic issues, Sergei Rakhmanov stressed.

Documents aimed at strengthening trade and economic ties traditionally make part of the agenda of the Council of the Republic. The senators considered ten issues, half of which concerned international activity. The senators approved the bill on Belarus' accession to the agreement of the SCO member states on the creation of favorable conditions for international road transportation, ratified the protocol on amendments to the intergovernmental Belarusian-Armenian agreement on international road transportation of 20 September 1997. The senators also agreed to appoint Dmitry Kalechits, Dmitry Lapko and Alexander Shevko as members of the board of the National Bank. The corresponding decree was signed on 4 April.