Strengthening partnership

28 марта 2021
Minsk and Moscow confirmed their readiness to strengthen partnership, including on a regional scale. The President received Dmitry Mezentsev, who is completing his mission as Russia's ambassador to our country. On Monday, he will officially take up the post of the Union State Secretary. 

Our countries have the closest trade and economic contacts. But the pursuit of profit and short-term interests of the Belarusian and Russian companies is not the main thing. Today, the allies need a deeper cooperation strategy. Strong ties are the only successful answer to the pressure and sanctions, which have become an instrument of pressure on both Minsk and Moscow. 

Regional cooperation is another facet of the Union's agenda. There are regions where interaction has to be significantly tightened, and there are regions that have become truly exemplary for Belarusian-Russian contacts. One of such examples is Primorsky Krai. It is already the eighth time that its governor visits Minsk. But Alexander Lukashenko proposes to develop cooperation in a trilateral format as well. 

Belarus is ready to engage in a frank dialogue with any state or region. We are ready to offer our products and technologies in industry, agriculture, and passenger transport development. There is great interest in cooperation in the construction industry. 

The idea of focusing on specific projects giving results and benefits for both parties was pronounced at the meeting with the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Belarus. Last year our trade turnover almost reached the level of a billion dollars. Industry, agriculture, construction are the areas where we can increase our cooperation. 

The partnership must be given an impetus by the visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Minsk. The warm personal relations of the Belarusian leader with both the current head of state Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the first president Nazarbayev helped to promote cooperation.