Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 20 May (BelTA) – The ongoing visit of the Indian parliamentary delegation to Belarus will play a major role in the development of interparliamentary cooperation between the two countries, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko said as he met with Speaker of the House of the People of the Parliament of the Republic of India Meira Kumar on 20 May, BelTA has learnt.

“This is the first time such a high-level delegation of the House of the People of India has visited Belarus. I am convinced that this visit will make a great contribution to the expansion of interparliamentary ties between the two countries,” Vladimir Andreichenko said.

He emphasized that Belarus greatly values its ties with India. The Speaker noted that the diplomatic relations between Belarus and India were established 20 years ago. Over this time the two countries have made progress in politics, including interparliamentary cooperation, as well as cooperation in science, education and other fields. The legal framework is being expanded. About eight cooperation documents were signed during the visit of the Belarusian Premier to India in 2012.

Belarus views India as one of the major trading partners in Asia. The bilateral trade amounted to $494.4 million in 2012. Belarus exported $262.2 million worth of goods to India. A total of 93 names of products were shipped to India from Belarus. Most of them were potassium, synthetic yarn, BelAZ machines, bearings, electronic integrated microcircuits.

Speaking about cooperation with the Indian Parliament, Vladimir Andreichenko noted there is a task group in the Belarusian Parliament that is responsible for promoting cooperation with India. The group consists of 25 MPs.

Meira Kumar thanked the Belarusian side for a warm welcome: “Both members of my delegation and I are very happy to be in this beautiful country”. She noted that she liked the capital city. According to her, the Belarusian people are rather hard-working.

Vladimir Andreichenko and Meira Kumar signed a cooperation agreement between the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and the House of the People of the Parliament of the Republic of India.