Events

MINSK, 22 September (BelTA) – Vice Speaker of Belarus’ House of Representatives Boleslav Pirshtuk expressed hope for the intensification of Belarus-Belgium interparliamentary relations as he met with Yoleen Van Camp, Member of the Chamber of Representatives of the Belgian Federal Parliament, head of the section on relations with Belarus within the Belgian Group in the Inter-Parliamentary Union on 22 September, BelTA has learned.

The Belarusian vice speaker believes that Belarus-Belgium inter-parliamentary cooperation is entering a new stage. “I hope that we will get back to the times when our inter-parliamentary contacts were very close,” Boleslav Pirshtuk noted. In his words, several years ago the contacts were maintained at a good level and the countries did a lot to develop them.

Boleslav Pirshtuk also expressed hope that, despite their short visit, Belgian MPs will hold fruitful meetings in Belarus, learn more about the country, and form an unbiased opinion about it. “For us, Belgium is a good and positive benchmark because Brussels is the political capital of Europe and you have a very good economy, high GDP, and a very high quality of life,” the vice speaker remarked.

According to him, Belgium’s influence on the situation in the European Union and the European space in general is significant. “I believe that if we boost our cooperation, we will be able to make a positive impact on the situation in Europe,” Boleslav Pirshtuk said. Belarus has made the first steps towards this goal: Minsk hosted the summer session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in July 2017. “We had a nice opportunity to cooperate with Belgian MPs. We have achieved mutual understanding on many points,” he emphasized.

Yoleen Van Camp admitted that Minsk had left a good impression on her. She views the visit of Belgian MPs as a wonderful opportunity to exchange opinions and study the country’s political system which differs from the Belgian one. The MP added that she expects a fruitful exchange of opinions from the upcoming meetings, “as Belarus is an important country from the standpoint of geography, in particular, and from other points of view,” she summed up.