Events

MINSK, 11 November (BelTA) – Turkey is a priority partner for Belarus, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said following the official talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 11 November, BelTA has learned.

“Turkey is a priority partner for us. We highly value our friendship and intend to develop productive interaction in all areas. I want to assure you that we will be a reliable friend for you and your supporter here, in the heart of Europe, or as we can say, in the economic center of Eurasia. Let's advance our relationship as much as we can. And we can do a lot,” the Belarusian President said.

The parties noted the absence of closed topics for cooperation. “We are building the cooperation in the name and for the benefit of our peoples, and not to the detriment of third countries. I am sure that the agreements reached during the summit will help us further strengthen and develop Belarusian-Turkish relations,” the Belarusian leader underlined.

The documents signed following the talks at the highest level create additional conditions for the expansion of the mutually beneficial ties in political, trade, economic, scientific, humanitarian and other areas of cooperation.

Alexander Lukashenko noted the need to raise the level of trade and economic ties to the level of personal and political relations. Therefore, the talks focused on the development of trade and investment cooperation. In particular, consideration was given to the prospects for the implementation of engineering and construction projects, and to the establishment of joint industrial zones. The heads of state reviewed the ways of increasing the mutual trade and optimizing logistics routes, setting up joint ventures in the two countries.

Proactive position of the business communities of the two countries is the key to strengthening economic partnership, the Belarusian President said.

Alexander Lukashenko said that the development of cooperation in culture is a positive factor that promotes mutual understanding between Belarus and Turkey. Turkey has recently hosted the Days of Belarusian Culture. “We will be glad to welcome a delegation of Turkish art workers next year. This is particularly relevant in the context of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between our countries that we will celebrate in 2017,” he said.

The Belarusian leader once again stressed that there are no misunderstandings between Belarus and Turkey in terms of politics. He thanked Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the comprehensive information about the events in the region, first of all in Syria and Iraq. “We have learned many new details, and this information will help us develop a sound understanding and approach to this region and the role of Turkey in terms of stabilization, the fight against terrorism, and the effort to restore peace in Iraq and Syria,” the Belarusian head of state said.