Belarusian parliamentarians positively assess cooperation with Latin American countries – Rachkov

Latin America is an interesting region that presents significant opportunities. But using these opportunities is not easy enough. This is due not only to the distance between Belarus and the region, but above all to the fact that many countries are either literally or indirectly influenced by the United States of America. Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives on International Affairs Sergey Rachkov drew attention to this in comments to journalists before the start of the seminar “Belarus and Latin America: Priorities of Long-Term Partnership”, which takes place today, October 21, in the House of Representatives.

Sergey Rachkov recalled the new US National Security Strategy:

- They generally singled out the Western Hemisphere as a region of their special national interests. Nevertheless, Belarus has its own history of relations with many countries in the region. We have stable contacts and cooperate not only in political terms, but also in trade and economic. Suffice it to say that Belarus has its embassies in five countries of the region, our honorary consuls work in many countries, which assist in the development of trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation.

The parliamentarian stressed that much attention is paid to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Thus, close relations have been built with the parliaments of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil.

- These countries play a special role in international organizations, including in international parliamentary structures, primarily in the Inter-Parliamentary Union. At the regular IPU Assembly in Tanzania, we saw the weight of Latin American countries, which even nominated their representative, a Chilean senator, to the post of IPU Chairman. Therefore, it is very important, despite the objective or subjective difficulties, to go to this region more persistently, dynamically, broader steps, which we, in principle, are doing.

Sergey Rachkov also noted that in 2025, the trade turnover between Belarus and the countries of the region increased by more than 1.4 times, and the export of Belarusian goods increased by more than 40 percent. In this regard, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives on International Affairs clarified that the indicators are not bad, but it is necessary to add.

- In this regard, parliamentarians perform their function. We focus on the work of intergovernmental commissions on trade and economic cooperation, make proposals for discussion, discuss the same topics with our colleagues – parliamentarians in Latin America. We are trying to use international platforms to discuss not only political issues, although I would like to say that the political support of these countries is also important for Belarus, but also humanitarian cooperation. People form relations between states. Friendship groups with Latin American parliaments work in our Parliament. The highest status of the group with Cuba is an inter-parliamentary commission headed by the chairmen of both houses of the National Assembly. We are actively cooperating with the Venezuelan parliament and working with relatively new countries, including Colombia. Therefore, today’s seminar is more about exploring opportunities to promote Belarus’ trade and economic interests in Latin America.

Traditionally, among the priorities of cooperation are agriculture, industry, as well as the humanitarian direction – healthcare, medicine and pharmaceuticals, which is one of the engines in the development of trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Latin American countries. Therefore, parliamentarians of the region come to Belarus, get acquainted with its capabilities, and commercial contracts are concluded as a result of the meetings.

Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Council of the Republic, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the Belarusian Society of Friendship and Cultural Communication with Foreign Countries, the Academy of Management under the President of the Republic of Belarus, the Belarusian State University and the Belarusian State University of Foreign Languages, members of the Youth Council under the House of Representatives take part in the event. Parliamentarians, diplomats and analysts will discuss cooperation between Belarus and Latin American countries in a global context, from specific economic contracts and the promotion of Belarusian technology to parliamentary diplomacy in PARLATINO and joint youth projects.

The deputies were tasked with deepening their understanding of the peculiarities of the Latin American market, clearly understanding in which countries and in what areas Belarus has real opportunities for a more sustainable and long-term presence in the region. Directions for the near future will also be determined. In addition, parliamentarians were instructed to participate more actively in bilateral intergovernmental commissions, hold a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Commission for Cooperation with the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba and implement agreements following the visit of Chairman Parlatino - an online dialogue of relevant commissions will allow timely support for projects of Belarusian enterprises coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Belarus-Latin America partnership priorities discussed at seminar in House of Representatives Photo by Daria Titova and House of Representatives