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Belarus eager to sell more goods to Palestine
MINSK, 22 February (BelTA) – Belarus is interested in stepping up merchandise shipments to Palestine. Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko made the statement as he met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Palestine to Belarus Khalid Ariqat on the occasion of the end of the ambassador’s diplomatic mission, BelTA has learned.
Roman Golovchenko said: “You will soon end your diplomatic work after working in our country for 11 years, including as the dean of the diplomatic corps for several years. You honorably and properly discharged your duties, including in complicated conditions from the point of view of illegitimate pressure on Belarus and a demarche of a number of heads of diplomatic missions. The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs could always rely on you.”
In his words, Belarus-Palestine relations are not limited only to the final stage of the history of independent Belarus. “The warm relations are rooted in the times of the Soviet Union, which always supported Palestinians in their fair fight for their rights. Belarus has also expressed support in every possible way for the realization of legal rights and interests of Palestinian people,” the prime minister stressed. “Our countries traditionally support each other in international organizations. We always occupy a partnership position and try to gradually build economic relations.”
Roman Golovchenko thanked Khalid Ariqat for the ambassador’s efforts to advance Belarus-Palestine relations, bolster cooperation in the sphere of education and healthcare. “I am pleased by the fact that for many years university students and young people have been coming from Palestine to Belarus in order to get education. It means they are satisfied with the quality of education and with affordable prices. It is a steady trend of many years. About 70% of the students are educated in Belarus now. It is a good figure,” the head of government noted.
Roman Golovchenko continued: “Your efforts helped advance the bilateral relations. These processes are not that fast. Nevertheless, the trade turnover is small but steady. Belarus imports a sufficient range of products from Palestine, including the pharmaceutical products that are not manufactured in Belarus. Belarusian products are also sold in Palestine. Certainly, we would like to export more products that sell well. The pandemic disrupted the dynamic development of contacts between regions. But we hope that the world is now transitioning to a calmer stage and we will continue realizing plans, which were not completely implemented during your stay in Belarus. The prospects are serious. We know how we should proceed. Relations at the level of the governments, representatives of the parliament will foster the development of economic ties. As you leave our country, you can rest assured that you’ve honestly and properly discharged your duties to your country, that you’ve made a big contribution to the strengthening of Belarusian-Palestinian relations.”
The ambassador thanked the Belarusian government for assistance during his stay in the country. “I endeavored to advance the bilateral relations between our states. I am convinced that this work will continue in the future. Belarus is a faithful friend of Palestine,” Khalid Ariqat stressed.
Work with Palestine primarily focuses on promoting business contacts. Import from Palestine made up the bulk of the bilateral trade turnover in the last few years. Medications made by the Palestinian-German company Pharmacare are the primary import. Belarusian exports include cosmetics, hygiene goods, pastry, and confectionery.
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