Mr Nina Mazay had a meeting with the parliamentary delegation of the Republic of Finland On 20 January 2009 a meeting of Ms Nina Mazay, Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus for Foreign Affairs and National Security,  with the parliamentary delegation of the Republic of Finland took place in the Council of the Republic. Ms Antonina Morova, Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic for Education, Science, Culture and Social Development, Ms Alla Naumchik, member of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic for Foreign Affairs and National Security, and Ms Valentina Leonenko, member of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives for International Affairs and Links with the CIS, also took part in the meeting.
The sides discussed a wide range of issues referring to the cooperation of the Republic of Belarus with the European Union as well as to various aspects of Belarusian-Finnish relations. Ms N.Mazay informed the guests about the interest of the Belarusian  side in participation in the Eastern Partnership шnitiative on all levels including that of parliaments. The senator noted that the Belarusian authorities took real steps towards rapprochement with the EU and expected its simultaneous actions. The Belarusian side is ready to discuss electoral legislation with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and other European organizations.
Talking about Belarusian-Finnish relations Ms N.Mazay noted the insufficient level of their development. Interaction in the sphere of economy gathers pace, but at the same time interparliamentary cooperation on bilateral as well as on multilateral basis  is not fully carried out. The Council of the Republic is about to complete the formation of working groups on cooperation with other parliaments and is ready to consider the corresponding proposal of the Finnish side. The Chairperson of the Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs and National Security draw the attention of the delegates of the Grand Committee of the Parliament of Finland to the prospects of cooperation in humanitarian, social and cultural spheres. She also answered their questions related to the structure, authority and functioning of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, the order of election of the members of the Council of the Republic and the deputies of the House of Representatives. In addition to that the participants of the meeting considered the issues of politial parties in the Republic of Belarus and freedom of printed and electonic mass media. Much attention was also given to cooperation in the field of environment protection.
After the meeting Ms Nina Mazay and Mr Erkki Tuomioja answered the questions of the newsmen. |
