Events

MINSK, 12 November (BelTA) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will visit Belarus in a week. The matter was high on the agenda of a meeting between Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Belarus Latif Gandilov, BelTA has learned.

Welcoming the diplomat, Alexander Lukashenko said: “We have developed a good practice when I meet with ambassadors not only at a time of their arrival in Belarus and departure but in the course of their work here. You know that I have held meetings with other ambassadors. The last one was the meeting with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation. So there's nothing unusual about it”.

The main reason for the meeting with the diplomat is the forthcoming visit to Belarus of Ilham Aliyev, the head of state said. “We have something to talk about. There are a lot of issues. Although I must say that the foundation of our relations is growing stronger,” the president said.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that since the beginning of the year the Belarusian-Azerbaijani trade has increased more than three times compared with the same period a year prior. “This is a very good increase. There is hardly such growth in trade with other states,” he noted. At the same time, the potential for interaction between the two countries is much higher." There is room for growth and there is something we need to work on,” the head of state added.

The president also mentioned Belarusian-Azerbaijani cooperation in the humanitarian sector, especially educational contacts. About 500 Azerbaijani students are attending universities in Belarus. “Our doors are open for Azerbaijan,” Alexander Lukashenko said and emphasized the importance of educational and scientific exchanges.

“You should know that we are your friends and are always ready to meet you halfway. Our agreements with Ilham Aliyev will be fulfilled. Belarus has no closed themes in cooperation with Azerbaijan,” the Belarusian leader said.

In 2006-2016 the Belarusian president paid four official visits to Baku, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev traveled to Minsk on official visits four times. In 2015, the Belarusian head of state participated in the opening ceremony of the First European Games in the Azerbaijani capital. The legal framework of the Belarusian-Azerbaijani cooperation includes 110 agreements. Belarus and Azerbaijan support each other in the international arena on the key issues for the both parties and also in the nominations to the UN elective bodies. In January-September 2018 the bilateral trade totaled $331.5 million. The Belarusian export made up $321.9 million, the import reached $9.6 million. In Azerbaijan there are more than 70 offices, subsidiaries, and entities of the commodity distribution network and distributors of Belarusian companies. In Belarus there are 59 Azerbaijan-funded enterprises.