Opinions & Interviews

Andreichenko: Belarus, Turkey steadily developing friendly relations

MINSK, 11 September (BelTA) – Belarus and Turkey have been steadily developing friendly relations in political, trade, economic and other sectors, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko said as he met with Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Volkan Bozkir on 11 September, BelTA has learned.

According to the Belarusian speaker, Belarus and Turkey are two friendly states. “Our relations have been steadily developing. They have never been broken off. This has been achieved thanks to warm and friendly relations between the heads of the two states. We have no unsolved issues today,” Vladimir Andreichenko said. In his words, the two countries have been developing relations in political, trade and economic sectors. Turkey is an important trade and economic partner of Belarus. In 2018, mutual trade almost reached $1 billion. “The two presidents have set a goal to make $1.5 billion in bilateral trade,” the chairman of the House of Representatives said. He expressed confidence that apart from political interaction MPs need to pay attention to trade and economic relations, and primarily to investment cooperation. 

The two countries actively cooperate in the international arena, where they provide mutual support to each other. “In the current turbulent times it is important to meet, discuss and be proactive,” Vladimir Andreichenko said.

In his turn, Volkan Bozkir, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, noted that Belarus is an important friendly state for Turkey. “Belarus is very important for Turkey not only in terms of trade and economic relations but also in terms of political cooperation. In this difficult region we see Belarus as an island of security," the Turkish MP said.

It will not be difficult to hit the target of $1.5 billion in bilateral trade, Volkan Bozkir believes. “The potential of the Belarus-Turkey relations far exceeds this goal,” he noted.

The prospects for freight traffic, which Belarus and Turkey plan to establish along the Dnieper, were discussed during the meeting. According to Volkan Bozkir, the project is being explored by the businesses of the two countries. Ukraine’s interest in it is another necessary condition, he noted. In general, Turkey looks forward to the successful implementation of the project.

During their stay in Belarus, the Turkish parliamentary delegation visited the Belarusian automobile engineering company BelAZ. According to Volkan Bozkir, Turkey hopes to outline opportunities for cooperation in the production of vehicles.

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