Türkiye aims to enhance cooperation with Belarus across various sectors, Selman Eser, head of the Türkiye-Belarus friendship group at the Grand National Assembly, told the media after meeting with the leadership of Belarus' House of Representatives.
“Friendship and relations between our countries are already at a very high level. But we hope that through the contacts that we will have during this visit, we will raise the relations to an even higher level,” Selman Eser said, The Caspian Post reports citing BelTA.
The Turkish side noted at the meeting that there is potential for cooperation between the two friendly nations of Türkiye and
Belarus. The diplomatic relations between the countries, which have lasted for 33 years and have developed mainly in areas such as economy, politics, and humanitarian affairs, are of a constructive nature. The head of the Türkiye-Belarus interparliamentary friendship group emphasized that the relations between the countries, which are based on mutual respect and trust, have been elevated to a very high level thanks to the direct dialogue between the countries' leaders, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Aleksandr Lukashenko.
"Türkiye is in fact very genuinely interested in developing relations with Belarus. And we are also committed to developing trade and economic relations between our countries,” Selman Eser said adding that the development of relations between Türkiye and Belarus was discussed in Ankara with the support of the two countries' embassies.
He recalled that the Turkish parliamentary delegation arrived in Belarus on 25 October. The schedule yesterday was very busy. The delegation is scheduled to hold a series of meetings and contacts aimed at developing mutually beneficial relations between the two countries. Selman Eser also highlighted the peace-loving and friendly nature of the Belarusian people. As a result of a joint meeting of the Belarusian-Turkish parliamentary cooperation working groups, Sergei Rachkov, Head of the Standing Commission on International Affairs of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus and head of the working group of the National Assembly of Belarus on cooperation with the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, emphasized the rich history of bilateral relations. “It is the task of parliamentarians to find new opportunities and potential for the development of cooperation in various areas. During the meeting, we naturally discussed the deepening of inter-parliamentary interaction. Belarus highly values the support of Türkiye at international parliamentary forums,such as the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Inter-Parliamentary Union,” he said.
Sergei Rachkov noted that during the annual OSCE PA session in Portugal, Belarusian MPs joined as co-authors of the amendments put forward by Türkiye to the assembly’s resolution.He added that the Belarusian side also receives support from Turkish parliamentarians.
The agenda also included economic and investment cooperation issues. Sergei Rachkov highlighted Türkiye’s big financial and economic potential and the opportunities for Belarus’ economy. The existing mechanisms and prospects for doing so were discussed during the meeting.
“Of course, issues such as people-to-people diplomacy, cultural and humanitarian ties, and tourism development are also a priority for the MPs. First of all, we noted that Türkiye is extremely popular among Belarusians as a tourist destination. Tourism is also developing very actively in Belarus. And we would be glad to see more Turkish guests in Belarus,” Sergei Rachkov said.
He added that ahead of the meeting, the Turkish delegation visited the Belarusian Great Patriotic War Museum. The guests were moved by the exposition, the heroism of the Belarusian people, who fought to defend not just their homeland, but the entire world. The parties voiced their desire to work together to strengthen friendship for the sake of peace, stability, and goodwill among people.
