Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 12 January (BelTA) - Belarus is satisfied with the level of cooperation with China., Belarus’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said in an interview to Xinhua news agency, BelTA informs.

“One must always be discontented with something in order to achieve more. But speaking seriously, we are satisfied with the level of our cooperation with the People's Republic of China. I think that our cooperation with China can be an example for interaction with other countries. We do not have any fundamental differences or disagreements with regard to political and trade, economic and humanitarian interaction,” the minister said.

Vladimir Makei stressed that for Belarus China is a very important and strategic partner. Over the 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the parties have reached a very high level of cooperation, and this has been enshrined in the relevant agreements. It would have not been possible if both the sides had no understanding that it was necessary to promote close interaction with each other in various fields and areas,” Vladimir Makei noted.

According to Vladimir Makei, over a quarter of a century of diplomatic relations the bilateral trade grew almost 100 times, and amounted to nearly $3 billion in January-November 2017.

“Therefore, we are satisfied with the overall state of our relations with China, but I think this is not the reason to be complacent. We still have many points of focus, a lot of areas for growth,” the minister believes.

When asked about the prospects of the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone, Vladimir Makei said that it is the largest project implemented in cooperation with China. However, but it goes far beyond bilateral cooperation. “We have made great progress in the implementation of the project,” the minister said.

In his words, last May the Belarusian president signed a decree to enforce the legal regime in the park to provide unprecedented preferences to potential residents and investors. The park has already registered about 25 investors from China, Russia, Germany, Austria and other European countries.

“We do not intend to limit ourselves to the development of the logistics and infrastructure sector in this park. We intend to develop innovative high-tech industries with a focus on the future. This is why the park offers the most unprecedented preferences to investors in the entire Eurasian area. A lot has already been implemented and achieved. Basic infrastructure has been developed, with a logistics sub-park in the pipeline. The park administration has been actively cooperating with investors. We will continue holding active negotiations with all the countries, leading companies that are willing to come and work in the park,” the minister said.

He added that the plans are to make the park a hub of the Silk Road Economic Belt with not only the logistics but also various innovative and future-oriented industries. “This would benefit Belarus as it would strengthen the country’s trade and economic potential. This would be beneficial for the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative in general. I think that the park has very good prospects and today’s achievements testify to the fact,” Vladimir Makei said.