Events

ASTANA, 7 November (BelTA) – Belarus is determined to maintain constructive and meaningful cooperation with Kyrgyzstan, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said as he met with his Kyrgyzstan counterpart Chingiz Aidarbekov in Astana, BelTA has learned.

“Our political dialogue is proceeding well. Our heads of state met on numerous occasions and in various formats and I know that Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko sets great store by relations with his counterpart [Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov] and welcomes Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to promote the country’s development and strengthen its foreign contacts,” the Belarusian foreign minister said.

Vladimir Makei noted that the situation in Central Asia has greatly improved in recent years. “The reasons for that are many. We are glad that cooperation between Central Asian states is gaining momentum and there is a will to settle disputes of the past. It is very important because it will contribute to stability, peace and greater security in the region,” the Belarusian diplomat noted.

Speaking about trade and economic cooperation, the minister said that the growth pace somewhat slowed down this year after a sharp rise in 2017. “However, we hope that we will reach the $100 million target in bilateral trade this year. Members of the intergovernmental commission adopted decisions that will help advance our cooperation to a totally new level. Belarus is determined to make it happen,” Vladimir Makei noted.

He congratulated Chingiz Aidarbekov on his recent appointment as minister of foreign affairs, wished him all the best and thanked him for the initiative to hold this meeting. “This is a good opportunity to meet each other and discuss topical issues of the bilateral agenda,” he noted.

Vladimir Makei expressed hope that his relations with his Kyrgyzstan counterpart will be as good as with Chingiz Aidarbekov’s predecessor. “We discussed all the matters in an absolutely open way, as we realized that this is the only way to address issues that might arise,” Vladimir Makei said.

Chingiz Aidarbekov welcomed progress in Kyrgyzstan-Belarus cooperation across a broad spectrum of matters, including politics, diplomacy, economy, culture and humanitarian affairs. He noted that this year the two countries will mark 25 years of diplomatic relations. Over this time, the two states held many events and meetings at various levels.

According to Chingiz Aidarbekov, the recent session of the intergovernmental commission was very successful. The session discussed topical issues and promising projects, like supply of various products and establishment of joint ventures to produce machinery. “Last year the two countries posted a meaningful increase in bilateral trade. This year the growth pace decelerated a little bit, but we hope that by the end of the year we will be able to catch up with last year’s figures and make significant progress by combining our efforts,” Chingiz Aidarbekov noted.

He suggested discussing specific approaches to galvanizing mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.