MINSK, June 30 (BelTA) — Belarus remains committed to cooperation on the principles of dialogue with mutual respect, Speaker of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko said during the last meeting of the 8th session of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the seventh convocation, learned BelTA.

“During the session, we constantly explained to our Western colleagues Belarus’ commitment to promoting trade and economic cooperation, the value of parliamentary diplomacy, the harmfulness of sanctions for the global economy,” Vladimir said. Andreichenko. “Unfortunately, the collective West is not yet receptive to our reasoning. We see his desire to isolate us, to block the channels of communication. However, confrontation is not our way. Belarus is always ready for a constructive, equal and mutually respectful dialogue. Therefore, we will continue to communicate with everyone, persistently promoting the peaceful foreign policy initiatives of the Belarusian head of state,” he said.

The speaker stressed that Belarusian MPs should communicate this position on all international platforms: “We have many friends who realistically assess international developments and are ready to expand cooperation with our country. One example is cooperation within the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

“Interaction through the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network also looks promising. Belarusian parliamentarians participate in the work of this forum in the capital of Azerbaijan. We should also intensify cooperation with the ASEAN IPA, the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) and the Pan-African Parliament. We should make the most of parliamentary diplomacy in relations with China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East,” added Vladimir Andreichenko.

According to him, considerable ground work has been laid in cooperation with India, and it should be used as a springboard to explore opportunities for cooperation in all areas of mutual interest: “Our immediate plans include holding meetings in online with parliamentarians from Vietnam, Thailand and Cuba. The working group on cooperation with the Iranian parliament will visit Tehran in July. There are good opportunities to expand inter-parliamentary contacts through the recently created working groups in the parliaments of Bulgaria, Venezuela and Mexico.