By Natalia Breus: On his official visit to India, Alexander Lukashenko has had a busy day with a number of important negotiations at the highest level.
In New Delhi, the Belarusian leader was warmly welcomed by his colleague Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A solemn ceremony took place in the presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan. The national anthems of the two countries were performed. A ceremonial salute was given in honour of the President of Belarus. Later, Alexander Lukashenko held talks with both Ram Nath Kovind and Narendra Modi.
Alexander Lukashenko has already visited India twice, thus supporting the high-level dialogue. The first visit took place in 1997, and the next one - ten years later, in 2007. Since then, the country has changed noticeably. India is not just one of the world’s fastest growing economies - it is also an influential global player. India is a member of the G20, as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS.
During the talks, Alexander Lukashenko voiced the idea of using the advantages that Belarus has not only for the development of bilateral relations with India, but also for cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union and Europe. At the moment, India is negotiating a free trade zone with the EAEU.
India is considered the best among not only mathematicians, but also among pharmacists. In Beshenkovichi, Belarus, they are planning to launch production of drugs for cancer, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. An Indian company is one the shareholders of the plant in Beshenkovichi. This summer, an international research and production complex was opened there. The exchange in technologies makes it possible to make medicines as efficient as possible, but the main thing is that medicines become cheaper.
Among other good, Belarus exports potash fertilizers to India. Fertilizers make up the lion's share of the 400 million dollars turnover. In many respects, food security in India depends on Belarus. In late August, a contract on the supply of 700 thousand tons of calcium chloride was signed. At the moment, Belarus holds a quarter of India's potash market, and an agreement to further increase the supplies was reached.
To spur its industrial production and infrastructure, India is implementing a number of modernization projects, which is why with its technologies and goods, Belarus can prove to be a reliable partner for India.
The Belarusian machine industry is gradually entering the Indian market, too. BelAZ will supply quarry machinery. However, India's tight protectionist policy makes it harder for Belarusian companies to sell their goods. Setting up assembly plants is a way out. Thus, they will assemble combine harvesters and dump trucks in India. Minsk Tractor Works will also work in the same format.
In his turn, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi noted that India and Belarus will work together to develop and diversify their economic ties and focus on building them on the basis of complementarity. Companies of Belarus and India should develop their relations and go beyond the framework of the usual trade towards the development of cooperation and building a deeper interaction.
One of India’s national projects that is being implemented now is the Qualified India programme. It provides for400 million people to get vocational training in the next 5 years. India and Belarus have opened a number of training centers. Belarusian universities also accept students from India. In recent years, the number of Indian students in Belarus has doubled, with 350 young peeople from India studying medicine here.
As a result of the negotiating marathon, Belarus and India signed a number of agreements on cooperation in education, oil and gas, and science. An agreement on investment protection was initialed.
There are no political and diplomatic contradictions between Belarus and India, therefore the Belarusian President urges the foreign ministries of the two countries to cooperate more in economy. Now that the two countries have agreed their cooperation philosophy, the time has come to launch joint projects.
