On 20 April 2009 a meeting of Mr Boris Batura, Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, with H.E. Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Dhahrani, Head of the parliamentary delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrein, Chairman of the Council of Representatives of the National Assembly of this country, took part in the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. This is the first visit of such high-ranking representatives of the legislation of Bahrain to the Republic of Belarus in the history of Belarusian-Bahraini inter-parliamentary relations. Ms Nina Mazay, Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic for Foreign Affairs and National Security, Mr Aleksandr Shakutin, member of the mentioned committee, Ms Liliya Moroz, Deputy Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic for Legislation and State Administration, Ms Irina Parakhnevich, member of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic for Economy, Budget and Finances, and Mr Vladimir Sinyakov, Deputy Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives for Chernobyl Catastrophe Issues, Ecology and Nature Management, Head of the working group of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus on cooperation with the Parliament of Bahrain, also took part in the meeting.

      During the meeting the sides discussed the peculiarities of Belarusian and Bahraini legislative bodies activities, the state and the prospects of bilateral inter-parliamentary as well as trade and economic cooperation. The Chairman of the Council of the Republic underlined that the visit of Mr Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus, to Bahrain in 2002 gave a significant impetus to the development of bilateral links. The sides also noted the importance of the Protocol on Cooperation signed by the houses of representatives of the Republic of Belarus and the Kingdom of Bahrain. According to Mr Boris Batura, intensification of contacts between the legislative bodies of our countries, inter alia through inter-parliamentary cooperation groups, will strengthen trade and economic cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and the Kingdom of Bahrain and intensify the cooperation in the sphere of education and tourism.

      H.E. Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Dhahrani in his turn stated the interest of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the development of relations with the Republic of Belarus in all spheres. In connection with this interest a question of appointing a diplomatic representation of his country in Belarus is currently being under consideration. He highly appraised the economic potential of our country in industrial and agricultural sectors creating good prerequisites for bilateral trade development, and offered to use the Bahraini potential in order to reach the markets of the other Persian Gulf Countries. The head of the parliamentary delegation of Bahrain emphasized that the atmosphere of toleration and the absence of interconfessional hostility in our country impressed him personally and the members of the delegation.