Business news

MINSK, 11 November (BelTA) – Belarus and Turkey intend to continue advancing cooperation across the board. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko made the statement during the opening ceremony of the Belarusian-Turkish business forum in Minsk on 11 November, BelTA has learned.

Alexander Lukashenko said: “The negotiations that took place today once again confirmed that there are no problems between Belarus and Turkey at the political level. Now we have to direct our attention to economic affairs. Together with my respected friend Recep Tayyip Erdogan we greenlighted the proposals our ministries and government agencies had prepared with a view to further intensifying the mutually beneficial and balanced trade and economic relations between Belarus and Turkey. We intend to continue developing cooperation across the board in the future.”

The President remarked that he enjoys the closest relations with the Turkish head of state. The two countries have no contradictions with regard to the international agenda and no topics to avoid in discussions. The two countries work together for the benefit of their nations while their friendship is not detrimental to interests of other countries. “Yet we have stated today that trade and economic relations, credit and financial relations — to a lesser degree perhaps — lag slightly behind that level and we need to address the situation,” stressed the Belarusian leader.

The two economies do not compete with each other, they are mutually complementary in the international division of labor. “Belarus sells mineral fertilizers to Turkey for needs of agriculture. Belarus sells metallurgy products for needs of the Turkish civil engineering and mechanical engineering industries. Belarus sells some other products, too. In turn, Turkey provides Belarus with agricultural products, light industry products, the parts and components that Belarusian automobile and tractor producers use,” pointed out the head of state.