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Azerbaijan initiates creation of Silk Road Support Group in OSCE PA

3 July 2017 14:10 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijan initiates creation of Silk Road Support Group in OSCE PA

By Kamila Aliyeva

Azerbaijan has initiated creation of a Silk Road Support Group in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA).

“Azerbaijani parliamentarians initiate the creation of the Silk Road Support Group in the OSCE PA,” Vladimir Andreichenko, chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, told BelTA.

“Our delegation will act as one of its founders. It is planned that this group will play the role of a platform for the promotion of mutually beneficial economic and trade relations,” he said.

The goal is to promote the development of transport corridors, simplification of trade and transport procedures, as well as ensure free and safe movement of persons, goods, services and investments, according to Andreichenko.

Azerbaijan is a key link in the Silk Road Economic Belt, the Chinese vision for a route connecting Asia, Europe and the rest of the world. The country has a long history of welcoming merchants from land and sea due to its proximity to Asia and Europe since the time of the ancient Silk Road.

The Silk Road Economic Belt comprises 6 corridors which connect five central Asian countries, Iran and the Persian Gulf region, Transcaucasia, Turkey and the Saudi Arabian peninsula.

Traditionally, trade between China and West Asia takes place mostly via maritime routes, and the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor is a land-based substitute for these traditional routes. The shortest way to approach West Asia from China is via Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

For its part, the Belarusian delegation is also preparing two events at the summer session of the OSCE PA. One of them is a draft resolution, which suggests measures to better combat the emergence of new psychoactive substances, the other is devoted to combating human trafficking.

Members of the assembly from the U.S., Romania, Hungary, as well as representatives of the institutes, representatives of the OSCE and the UN, the International Organization for Migration, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Health of Belarus will take part in the discussion of these issues.

The OSCE PA summer session, which is scheduled to take place in Minsk on 5-9 July, will be dedicated to bolstering mutual trust and cooperation in the name of peace and prosperity in the region.

A lot of events will be held as part of the OSCE PA summer session, including a session of the OSCE PA standing committee and general committees on political affairs and security, on economic affairs, science, technology and environment, on democracy, human rights, and humanitarian affairs. Minsk is expected to welcome up to 700 visitors as part of the session.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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