Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 7 September (BelTA) – The Belarus-India trade may reach $1 billion, Belarusian Industry Minister Vitaly Vovk told journalists during the opening ceremony of the seventh session of the Belarus-India intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation, BelTA has learned.

“During the visit of the Indian President to our country (in June 2015 – BelTA’s note) we agreed to reach $1 billion in bilateral trade. In recent years, it stood at some $300-500 million. In January-July 2015, our trade went up by 31% from the same period of 2014,” Vitaly Vovk noted.

He expressed hope that this positive trend will continue. "Judging by the new projects that Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman has presented today, I can say that $1 billion in bilateral trade is an attainable goal,” Vitaly Vovk stressed.

The minister believes that the potential of the two countries is not fully tapped. He is confident that further cooperation will help achieve a higher level of trade.

Vitaly Vovk said that Belarus has plans to cooperate with India in machine building and creation of joint ventures on the territory of both states. Besides, the Indian side invites Belarus to boost the bilateral cooperation in pharmaceutics and textile production.

“We have already developed a roadmap for cooperation. Its implementation, no doubt, will help us advance the bilateral trade to a new level,” Vitaly Vovk emphasized.

In 2014, the Belarus-India trade made up $402.7 million, up 13.5% from 2013. In January-June 2015 the trade reached $236 million. Belarus' main exports to India are potassium chloride, synthetic fiber ropes, BelAZ dump trucks, synthetic yarn, hydrazine, and oxides. Belarus mainly imports Indian medications, fish meat, coffee and tea extracts, and tobacco.