Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 14 September (BelTA) – Over the years of independence Belarus and Kazakhstan have developed an allied and strategic partnership, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Belarus Yergali Bulegenov said at the international conference Kazakhstan-Belarus: 25 Years of Diplomatic Relations. Results, Reality and Prospects on 14 September, BelTA has learned.

“Our relations are based on friendship, mutual respect and equal partnership. In all its key global initiatives and nominations Kazakhstan was supported by Belarus. The heads of state actively support all the integration initiatives in the post-Soviet space. The countries’ positions coincide on the majority of issues on the regional and international agenda,” noted Yergali Bulegenov.

The two countries enjoy strong historical ties. During the Great Patriotic War Kazakh people fought together with Belarusians defending the country, were part of the partisan movement. About 100,000 Kazakh soldiers died in Belarus during the war. 84 Kazakhs received the Hero of the Soviet Union title for the liberation of the country. “The memories about the wartime are cherished both in Belarus and Kazakhstan. The victory pulled our nations together,” said Yergali Bulegenov.

Kazakhstan and Belarus started with similar steps in nation-building. These were the nuclear disarmament and a balanced multi-pronged foreign policy.

“During the years of independence Kazakhstan and Belarus have maintained and expanded the bilateral relations in politics, trade, economy, investment, science, defense, health, culture, science, education, sport and tourism. We apply the systemic approach in trade and economic cooperation, which has high-quality content. Every two years, the governments adopt the plan of joint activities covering a wide range of issues,” the diplomat said.

Kazakhstan is among Belarus’ major trading partners in the CIS. In 2014 the trade between the two countries reached almost $1 billion. “In the following years the trade shrank amid the global recession. But this year we see the improvements in the situation. In January-June the trade rose by nearly 70% over the same period in 2016. Particular emphasis is placed on cooperation in the engineering. We assemble mining, special-purpose, utility vehicles and fire fighting equipment, tractors, harvesters balers, engines, medical equipment,” the ambassador said.

The promising areas of interaction include the promotion of contacts between small and medium-sized businesses, cooperation in IT, energy, logistics and transit, research and agriculture.

The international conference “Kazakhstan-Belarus: 25 years of the diplomatic relations. Results, reality and prospects” was attended by the heads of the diplomatic missions accredited in Belarus, the parliament, government bodies, think tanks and universities. The forum discussed the cooperation in the field of information, culture, science, economy and education.