Belarus, UAE to intensify interparliamentary dialogue
Baku, October 19 (AZERTAC). Belarus and the United Arab Emirates intend to intensify the interparliamentary dialogue, according to BelTA. Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Republic`s permanent commission Alexander Shakutin and the UAE Charge d`affaires in Belarus Ismail Al Zaabi confirmed the intention at a meeting on 18 October.
“Belarus and the United Arab Emirates have established strong ties and achieved mutual understanding in the recent years,” said Alexander Shakutin. In his words, the two countries are developing political dialogue and all-round cooperation. The opening of the UAE Embassy in Belarus and a direct Minsk-Abu Dhabi flight prove these trends. Alexander Shakutin also praised close bilateral cooperation on the international scene, saying that the two states have similar outlooks on the key issues of international agenda.
At the same time, he believes the two countries do not exploit the potential in full. There are opportunities to increase the inflow of Emirati investments in Belarus. The present volumes of bilateral turnover are far from satisfactory. In 2009, Belarus exported $22.8 million worth of goods and services to the UAE, the import made up $2.9 million.
Alexander Shakutin believes the bilateral trade may grow up if the two countries implement joint projects on education, military cooperation.
Belarus plans to step up the export of machinery, petrochemicals and agricultural products.
Ismail Al Zaabi, in turn, said he is ready to intensify the relations between the Belarusian and Emirati parliaments. He proposed the National Assembly of Belarus to mull over concrete step towards this goal.
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