Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 14 October (BelTA) – Belarusian MPs are interested in the development of trade and economic relations with Russian regions, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko said as he met with Chairperson of the Legislative Assembly of Sverdlovsk Oblast Lyudmila Babushkina on 14 October, BelTA has learned.

The visit of the Sverdlovsk Oblast delegation to Belarus is a serious impetus for stepping up work on the inter-parliamentary level, the speaker said. “As for the Russian Federation in general, Belarusian MPs are interested in the enhancement of trade and economic relations with the regions,” he said. In 2013 the bilateral trade between Belarus and Sverdlovsk Oblast fell by 13.1% to $502.4 million. “We have a big potential in this field, therefore MPs need to focus on the issue,” he believes.

Vladimir Andreichenko paid attention to the development of scientific, technical and cultural cooperation. At the beginning of September a monument to founder of the Pesnyary band Vladimir Mulyavin who was born in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) was unveiled in Yekaterinburg. Vladimir Mulyavin made a big contribution to the development of Soviet and Belarusian culture. A monument to Vladimir Mulyavin will be unveiled in Belarus in the near future.

Lyudmila Babushkina, in turn, said: “MPs play a huge role in the enhancement of trade, economic, humanitarian, scientific, technical relations because we develop common approaches in legislation which create favorable business conditions in Russia and Belarus.”