Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 1 November (BelTA) – Belarus’ doors are always open for the United Arab Emirates and the Emirate of Dubai. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko made the statement on 1 November as he met with Vice President, Prime Minister and Defense Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, BelTA has learned.

The Belarusian head of state said: “I thank you for the kind words addressed to me and my nation. In turn, I would like to say that Belarus’ doors are always open for the United Arab Emirates and the Emirate of Dubai. I would like to state my key view during our meeting in order to encourage you to visit Belarus more often. We are greatly interested in that. We should advance our economic relations to the level of political ones.”

In turn, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum remarked he was glad to welcome Alexander Lukashenko. He stated that the UAE on the whole and the Emirate of Dubai in particular were ready to take relations with Belarus to the next level. “We would like to advance these relations for the better,” he said.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also spoke in glowing terms about Belarus and its people.

BelTA reported earlier that Alexander Lukashenko met with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan in the UAE capital the day before. The sides discussed promising avenues of future mutually beneficial cooperation between Belarus and the UAE in various areas, including cooperation in trade and economic affairs as well as investments. Cooperation and the sharing of the best practices in the area of high technologies and sustainable development were also discussed. The negotiations also touched upon items on the international agenda.