Opinions & Interviews

Opinion: Belarusian MPs are open to dialogue with European Parliament

Andrei Savinykh. An archive photo

MINSK, 5 March (BelTA) – Belarusian parliamentarians are open to a dialogue with the European Parliament, Chairman of the Standing Committee for International Affairs of the House of Representatives Andrei Savinykh told the media on 5 March. He is taking part in a seminar on priorities of international parliamentary cooperation for Belarus in the developing multi-polar world, BelTA has learned.

“The Belarusian parliament’s attitude towards the European Parliament has always been and will stay constructive, and no incidents can influence it. We are open to a dialogue and hope that the European Parliament will demonstrate the same openness,” Andrei Savinykh said.

Attending the seminar are representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Economy Ministry, the State Science and Technology Committee, the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and experts in international relations.

“We need to decide on priorities and areas of activity. For this purpose we have 72 working groups for contacts with foreign parliaments, 12 delegations in international parliamentary organizations. It is very important for us to make this work oriented to the acceleration of the social and economic development of the country,” the chairman of the Standing Committee said.

Andrei Savinykh emphasized the areas where the inter-parliamentary cooperation can be most fruitful. “First of all, it is the export of educational, medical, informational, business, and tourism services. I would like to stress that we are talking about the inbound tourism and transformation of Belarus into a tourist country. The second step is to attract strategic partners for the projects that will be crucial for the country’s development in five, 10, and 15 years’ time. The third point is that economic cooperation is developed, first of all, with the countries of trust,” he said.

The chairman of the Standing Commission stressed that inter-parliamentary diplomacy is an efficient tool to develop trust, contribute to Belarus’ image as a reliable and responsible international partner. “The areas of activities cover the whole world. We will not be dividing countries by priorities. Every country can give us opportunities for development. Developing countries are great partners in education and even in cooperation in science. Here we could be donors of sci-tech innovations. Developed countries are wonderful partners to share technologies, mode advanced forms of cooperation. We also consider them as investors for big projects,” he said.

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