Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 11 July (BelTA) – Further normalization of the relations with the European Union remains one of Belarus’ foreign economic priorities, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting to discuss Belarus’ foreign policy priorities at the current stage on 11 July, BelTA has learned.

“Our neighbor, the European Union, is going through tough times. It is facing a number of serious challenges. I believe the EU will tackle them successfully. I have mentioned many times that we need an economically and politically strong European Union. The EU is one of the pillars of the multipolar world. That says it all,” the head of state noted.

Alexander Lukashenko pointed out that sanctions imposed on the enterprises have been removed. There are no quotas on imports of Belarusian textiles anymore. Progress has been achieved in Belarus’ cooperation with the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and in the WTO accession process.

“These circumstances open up new opportunities for cooperation with the European Union. We cannot fail to seize the moment. We should carve our niche in the European market that is very solvent and technology-savvy. This is the task for all,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

He said that in this way, Belarus can continue the systematic work to step up the economic cooperation with the United States. “We are interested in a stable and unimpeded access for Belarusian goods and services to the high-capacity solvent market of the United States. Besides, we would like to attract U.S. investments, technologies, and establish manufacturing cooperation with this country’s companies. I should say that we do not just underperform in this respect. Our performance is awful. I can say that we do not work there at all,” Alexander Lukashenko said.