Events

RIGA, 5 November (BelTA) – Belarus’ Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov invited Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Keqiang to pay a visit to Belarus. The Belarusian head of government made the proposal during his meeting with the Premier of China’s State Council in Riga on 5 November, BelTA has learned.

According to Andrei Kobyakov, Alexander Lukashenko’s state visit to China in September 2016 resulted in a new level of confiding all-round strategic partnership and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. “While in Beijing, the Belarusian head of state put forward his initiative of annual meetings at the level of the heads of government of the two countries. We can start it with your visit to Belarus. I confirm our invitation to you to visit our country,” said the Prime Minister.

He also thanked for the invitation to attend the Meeting of Heads of Government, 16+1, in Riga on 5 November. “Let me express the gratitude to China and you, Mr Li Keqiang, for the support of Belarus’ participation in the 16+1 summit, a new format for us,” Andrei Kobyakov said.

Li Keqiang, for his part, thanked for the invitation to visit Belarus and stated that he would do all his best to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. “It is important for us to maintain relations. I am ready to help address the issues raised by the Belarusian representatives. It is also necessary to outline vectors of our future cooperation,” he said.

Li Keqiang also stressed that “an important achievement at the current moment was Belarus’ participation in the 16+1 summit as an observer.” “This goal has been achieved,” he stressed.

The 16+1 format is China’s initiative to develop cooperation with 11 EU member states and five Balkan states (Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, Estonia) in the areas of investment, transport, finance, science, education and culture.