Business news

MINSK, 28 September (BelTA) – Speaker of the House of Representatives of Belarus’ National Assembly Vladimir Andreichenko offered to hold the first international Belarus-ASEAN expo and a business forum in Minsk at the session of the Council of the House of Representatives on 28 September, BelTA has learned.

According to the speaker, it is necessary to move towards Southeast Asia more actively, because there is enormous potential in the region. “Maybe, the Standing Commission on International Affairs should take the initiative and offer the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belexpo exhibition company to arrange the first international Belarus-ASEAN expo and a Belarus-ASEAN business forum in Minsk,” Vladimir Andreichenko suggested.

He believes that the parliament and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should launch an active information campaign to attract businessmen from the ASEAN member states. “If we gather the economic potential of ten Southeast Asian countries at one place, we will lay a good groundwork for bolstering ties and boosting trade. I suppose that our delegation to the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly can take on this task,” the speaker said.

He remarked that the secretary general of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly is expected to visit Belarus.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was founded in Bangkok, Thailand in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines which were later joined by Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Papua New Guinea and East Timor are special observers in the organization.

Nowadays the ASEAN is one of the largest regional organizations. It aims to boost the regional economic growth, social and cultural development, promote peace and stability in the region, and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, economy, education, and culture.