Opinions & Interviews

Ambassador: Belarus-Slovakia trade volume can be doubled

Jozef Migas

MINSK, 6 July (BelTA) – The level of mutual relations between Belarus and Slovakia allows one to believe that the trade turnover can be substantially increased, BelTA learned from Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Slovakia to Belarus Jozef Migas.

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with the ambassador earlier on 6 July. The ambassador’s mission in Belarus is nearing completion. During the meeting Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the current trade volume of $266 million is below the potential of the two countries.

Jozef Migas also believes it is possible to substantially increase the level of bilateral trade. “If we reach €500 million, it will be adequate to what both sides can do and deserve,” he said.

Yet Jozef Migas pointed out the significant results achieved in the course of advancing the political dialogue. The first ever visit of the Slovak prime minister to Belarus in 2016 was one of them. “An entire series of contacts between ministries and enterprises followed it. It was a genuine breakthrough. I believe it is an important moment in the history of our relations,” the ambassador stressed.

He assured he would continue working to advance Belarus-Slovakia cooperation after his mission is over. Ways to use his experience later on were discussed during the meeting with the Belarusian head of state. For a long time Jozef Migas has worked as a diplomat in the post-Soviet space. He has worked as a consultant for various commercial entities and he is known well among Slovak business circles. In his words, he will continue taking part in joint projects with Belarus in the area of agriculture and power engineering.

The diplomat said: “I have 35 hectares of land in Slovakia. I would like to take some rest there and think. There is a farm for producing cattle to make marble meat using biotechnologies. The Belarus president suggested using this experience in your country.” By the way, the ambassador will take a dog from Minsk to his home country. The dog of the German shepherd breed is a gift from the Belarusian border service.

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