On 29 January 2009 Mr Boris Batura, Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, had a meeting with Mr Oleg Yesayan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Republic of Belarus, on his request. Ms Nina Mazay, Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic for Foreign Affairs and National Security, and Mr Anatoly Novikov, Deputy Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic for Education, Science, Culture and Social Development, Deputy Co-Chairperson of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission on Cooperation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, also took part in the meeting.

       The Chairman of the Council of the Republic noted that an effective legal basis allowing active development of trade-economic and humanitarian links of the two states had been created between Belarus and Armenia. He underlined that the 3^rd sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee for Cooperation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia dedicated to energy supply security was scheduled for the nearest future within the framework of Belarusian-Armenian inter-parliamentary cooperation. He also highly appraised the interaction between the legislative bodies of the two countries in the international arena. The Chairman of the Council of the Republic proposed to make a more extensive use of the opportunities of the parliamentarians of the two countries for intensification of trade and economic links.

       The Ambassador of Armenia extended the invitation of Mr Ovik Abraamyan, Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, to Mr Boris Batura to visit Armenia at his convenience. Mr Oleg Yesayan agreed to the necessity of intensification of Belarusian-Armenian trade and economic links and noted that many of Armenian parliamentarians were representatives of business interested in developing the cooperation with their Belarusian colleagues. He assured that he would exert every effort for strengthening of mutual trust and friendship of the two countries.