Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 14 December (BelTA) - Belarus is interested in developing cooperation with Turkey in industry and technology, Belarus’ Industry Minister Vitaly Vovk said at the Belarus-Turkey Innovation Forum in Minsk on 14 December, BelTA has learned.

“For Belarus, Turkey is an important partner, and we are interested in strengthening the relations with this country. We are ready to discuss any topics of mutual interest. Belarus and Turkey have a great industrial, scientific, and innovative potential for boosting mutually beneficial trade and economic ties. We are interested in attracting Turkish investment and technology, creating modern manufacturing facilities in our country,” Vitaly Vovk noted.

Last year Belarus signed an agreement on scientific and technological cooperation with Turkey. “Our main task is to support the cooperation in science and innovation at the level of scientific organizations, universities, small and medium businesses,” Deputy Chairman of the State Science and Technology Committee Sergei Shcherbakov said.

Belarus would like to have closer ties with Turkey in education as well. “A few years ago our ministries signed an agreement on cooperation in this area. The primary mechanism for development of such cooperation are inter-university ties and agreements. Currently we have 20 agreements between universities of Belarus and Turkey.

We are well-positioned to boost cooperation in humanitarian affairs and implement projects in science and technology,” Belarus’ First Deputy Education Minister Vadim Bogush said.

Belarus-Turkey Innovation Forum is running in Minsk. The host is the BNTU’s technopark Polytechnic. The forum aims to enhance bilateral cooperation in such areas as construction and real estate, energy, woodworking, chemical industry, transport and logistics, information technology. Attending the forum are representatives of public authorities in the field of science, innovation and industry, and also representatives of innovative structures of the two countries, resident companies of the science and technology parks and free economic zones.

The forum has been organized by the State Science and Technology Committee of Belarus, the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology of Turkey, the scientific-technological park BNTU’s technopark Polytechnic, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey.