Belarus president meets speaker of Azerbaijani parliament - UPDATE

Azerbaijan parliamentarians expect Belarus to enter the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe soon, said Chairman of the Azerbaijan Parliament Ogtay Asadov as he met with Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Boris Batura in Minsk on 12 October.

“I think Belarus’ entry into PACE is a near future prospect,” said the Azerbaijani speaker.

He expects Belarusian-Azerbaijani interparliamentary relations to be stepped up after an agreement on cooperation between the National Assembly of Belarus and the Parliament of Azerbaijan is signed. The document is supposed to be signed in Minsk on 12 October. “The agreement will give a new boost to joint work of our parliamentarians,” said the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament.

In turn, Boris Batura thanked his Azerbaijani counterpart for supporting Belarus in international organizations. “We are thankful for the support in the international arena in such organizations as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly,” said Boris Batura. He said he hopes that this support will allow restoring status quo for Belarus in these organizations.

Speaking about the trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, Boris Batura said that last year the trade turnover increased a lot but the increase stopped this year. “The economic crisis might be blamed for it but maybe not all the reserves are used. I think during the forthcoming visit of the Azerbaijan President to Belarus essential changes will be made in order to at least preserve the trade turnover at last year’s level,” said Boris Batura.

In 2008 Belarus-Azerbaijan trade exceeded $111.5 million, while in 2007 the figure did not reach $90 million. In January-August 2009 the trade amounted to $71.5 million, 90.4% as against January-August 2008.

Oct. 12
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“Belarus and Azerbaijan should enhance cooperation”, said President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko during the meeting with Chairman of Azerbaijani Milli Majlis (Azerbaijan’s Parliament) Ogtay Asadov on Oct. 12.

Lukashenko said during his last visit to Azerbaijan, the sides agreed on main directions of cooperation for bringing the countries closer to each other.

Within the framework of the visit, Chairman of Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Ogtay Asadov is expected to have meetings with Chairman of the House of Representatives of National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreychenko and Speaker of the Council of Republic Boris Batura.

Agreement on cooperation between the parliaments of Azerbaijan and Belarus will be signed during the visit.

/APA, Belta/