News & Events in Belarus

MINSK, 29 November (BelTA) - Belarus is fully committed to the implementation of a bilateral cooperation roadmap, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with Ambassador of Uzbekistan Nasirjan Yusupov on 29 November, BelTA informs.

“We have recently approved a roadmap, which is a plan of our activities for the future. The prime ministers have signed this plan. Tell [Uzbekistan President] Shavkat Miromonovich [Mirziyoyev] that I will keep an eye on the implementation of this plan and that we are fully committed to it,” the Belarusian leader stressed.

Alexander Lukashenko remarked that Belarus’ cooperation with friendly Uzbekistan is increasingly vibrant. “The main result is that we have closed a gap in our cooperation which emerged during previous years. I already said that this was a substantial achievement of your president,” the head of state said.

Speaking about the leader of Uzbekistan, the Belarusian president remarked that Shavkat Mirziyoyev worked on the strategy of Uzbekistan’s development when he was the prime minister. “This man knows and loves Uzbekistan, he has done a lot for Uzbekistan. He saw all problems. Therefore, when he became president, he did not have to get familiar with the state of things and look at the personnel. He was in the know. He settled in very quickly and succeeded in all fields,” the head of state said.

“I saw many presidents, and no one solved pending issues so quickly. He did a great job. And I am sincere in my praise,” the Belarusian leader said speaking about the achievements of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as president.

He also stressed that the countries managed to bridge a gap in bilateral cooperation which existed in the past 15-20 years.

Alexander Lukashenko said that the president of Uzbekistan can visit Belarus at any convenient time. “We will provide all-round assistance to help you organize the visit. We will welcome him as our friend and brother who loves Belarus very much. I am always pleased to see it. Indeed, he has a sincere attitude to Belarus because he knows our country very well. Belarus will always be a reliable partner for Uzbekistan, there are no closed topics in our cooperation. A lot has been already done, and a lot will be done in the future,” the Belarusian head of state concluded.

Belarus and Uzbekistan maintain constructive cooperation. In September 2018, the Belarusian president paid an official visit to Uzbekistan. As a result, the sides have reached a number of concrete agreements on expanding interaction in trade, economy, education, culture and other fields. Belarus and Uzbekistan signed 17 agreements. An action plan (a roadmap) to develop cooperation has been approved. On the whole, the legal framework of bilateral relations includes more than 60 agreements.

In 2017, the bilateral trade made up $130.9 million (205.4% from the level of 2016). Export reached $96.1 million (up 2.7 times), import was $34.8 million (up 24.7%). A positive trade surplus made up $61.3 million.

Such positive trends remain in 2018. In January-September 2018, the trade turnover made up $121 million (up 47.2% over the same period of 2017), the export of goods was $91.5 million (up 56.3%), import was $29.5 million (up 24.7%). A positive trade surplus was $62 million.

Twenty-four organizations founded by Belarusian legal entities or individuals have been registered in Uzbekistan. These include two subjects of the commodity distribution network owned by Belarusian holding companies - Amkodor-Tashkent and MAZ-Tashkent. Two assembly plants for Belarusian equipment were opened in Uzbekistan in 2017. The co-founders are OAO Amkodor and OAO Bobruiskagromash. Forty-seven organizations have been founded by Uzbekistani legal entities and individuals in Belarus.