In the course of the two-day conference on the One Belt One Road Initiative in Minsk, Belarus, MPs Stefana Miladinovic and Dusica Stojkovic, members of the standing delegation to OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, met with the Chairman of the Council of the Republic (upper house of parliament) of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich.
The officials reaffirmed the traditionally good political relations between Serbia and Belarus and readiness to advance interparliamentary cooperation. They also stressed that though the two countries enjoy high-level political relations with no outstanding issues, their economic relationship could stand to be improved through investments and business partnerships using the benefits of the existing bilateral agreements.
Since both legislative bodies are among the founders of the OSCE PA Silk Road Support Group, the officials also spoke about the significance of the One Belt One Road Initiative and the two countries’ participation in the realization of the projects envisaged by the global integration idea launched in 2013 by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Serbian parliamentary delegation spoke about the visit to the Chinese-Belarusian industrial park “Great Stone” and informed the host that Serbia is planning a big industrial park in Borca, also to be constructed in cooperation with Chinese partners.
The National Assembly delegation thanked the host for Belarusian unwavering support of Serbia’s territorial integrity, opining that the parliamentary cooperation under the auspices of international organizations, regional initiatives and working bodies is exceptional.
“Serbia is in the midst of European integration, which is the country’s strategic goal, but it remains firm on its foreign policy goals which are its strategic partnerships with traditional friends – Russia, Belarus and China”, said the Head of the National Assembly’s delegation to OSCE PA Stefana Miladinovic.
The Belarusian side said it was ready to continue the friendly relationship, based on the mutual respect of two equal partners, and help to tackle the political circumstances Serbia and Belarus have to contend with on the international scene.
Myasnikovich highlighted the importance of cooperation, bilateral, international and concerning the problems in Kosovo-Metohija, imposition of custom fees on Serbian and Bosnian products by Pristina.
“You can always count on Belarusian support both in terms of continued bilateral cooperation and in leading international organizations and forums. Rest assured that Belarus will maintain a consistent stance on Kosovo-Metohija and you can count on its support in the future”, said Myasnikovich.
MP Dusica Stojkovic briefed the Belarusian side on the current situation in Kosovo-Metohija, the daily provocations by the Albanian side and the imposition of 100% customs fee that makes everyday life that much harder for the people, from the purchase of staple foods, freedom of the media and availability of information, to causing financial loses to Serbian businesses which are not able to operate or utilize free flow of goods.
“In these challenging times, we have to find the way to utilize the opportunities our excellent political cooperation offers. Events such as Minsk Days in Belgrade are a good example of how we can promote one another and strengthen our friendship, as well as create the environment conducive to attracting new investments and joint partnerships”, MP Stojkovic said.
