Talks with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
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Belarus
has always been a reliable partner for Kazakhstan, Belarus President
Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with his Kazakhstan counterpart
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev one-on-one on 25 October.
“Our relations with Kazakhstan go back decades, centuries. We have always been close, especially during the Soviet Union period. Our economies have always been complementary, which creates new opportunities for us today. Our friendly Kazakhstan needs everything we produce. We are ready to buy your products. There are good prospects. The foundation that has been created over the years of independence is worth a lot,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
In his words, Belarus will always be a reliable partner for Kazakhstan. “We, as close people, close friends, will always find solutions to all issues,” the president stressed.
According to the head of state, Belarus and Kazakhstan, together with Russia, are at the centre of integration processes. He added that not a single direction of integration works without Kazakhstan today. “Kazakhstan was the initiator of many integration processes under the first president. I am very pleased to note that you have taken over to lead this huge country at a very difficult time, following the course of integration in the economies of our countries, the friendship of our peoples,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed for his part that the visit of the Belarusian leader is a welcome event for Kazakhstan and a good opportunity to confirm the absolutely friendly nature of relations between the two countries, to give a serious impetus to business cooperation, be it economy, humanitarian activities or international cooperation. He added that the Belarus-Kazakhstan relations, strategic partnership of the two states meet the national interests of the two nations.
“The level of Belarus-Kazakhstan relations meets the strategic interests of our countries in full today. This is the result of multi-year hard work, which enables us to make serious plans for the future,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
In his words, Minsk and Nur-Sultan have gained positive experience of interaction at all levels and reached the highest degree of trust to discuss any issues openly and frankly. “A good basis for large-scale cooperation is created by similar priorities in social and economic development and a mutual desire to strengthen the real sector of the economy. We have placed a special emphasis on expanding the dialogue in the economic sector, since we have almost no unresolved issues in politics, military-technical cooperation, and diplomacy. We have similar views on the key issues on the international agenda,” the president stressed.
The Belarusian head of state stated that Kazakhstan is one of the key trade partners of Belarus. Over the past three years, mutual trade has more than doubled. In 2018, bilateral trade made up $900 million. “We are close to reach the $1bn threshold in trade. There is a certain imbalance in trade in favor of Belarus, but the import from Kazakhstan has grown significantly in recent years,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Belarus is ready to consider Kazakhstan’s proposals to balance out the trade, the president said. “Agreements have been reached on all the issues on the bilateral agenda. We are ready to move forward to turn from traditional trade to a bigger number of joint companies,” the Belarusian leader said.
“Our relations with Kazakhstan go back decades, centuries. We have always been close, especially during the Soviet Union period. Our economies have always been complementary, which creates new opportunities for us today. Our friendly Kazakhstan needs everything we produce. We are ready to buy your products. There are good prospects. The foundation that has been created over the years of independence is worth a lot,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
In his words, Belarus will always be a reliable partner for Kazakhstan. “We, as close people, close friends, will always find solutions to all issues,” the president stressed.
According to the head of state, Belarus and Kazakhstan, together with Russia, are at the centre of integration processes. He added that not a single direction of integration works without Kazakhstan today. “Kazakhstan was the initiator of many integration processes under the first president. I am very pleased to note that you have taken over to lead this huge country at a very difficult time, following the course of integration in the economies of our countries, the friendship of our peoples,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed for his part that the visit of the Belarusian leader is a welcome event for Kazakhstan and a good opportunity to confirm the absolutely friendly nature of relations between the two countries, to give a serious impetus to business cooperation, be it economy, humanitarian activities or international cooperation. He added that the Belarus-Kazakhstan relations, strategic partnership of the two states meet the national interests of the two nations.
“The level of Belarus-Kazakhstan relations meets the strategic interests of our countries in full today. This is the result of multi-year hard work, which enables us to make serious plans for the future,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
In his words, Minsk and Nur-Sultan have gained positive experience of interaction at all levels and reached the highest degree of trust to discuss any issues openly and frankly. “A good basis for large-scale cooperation is created by similar priorities in social and economic development and a mutual desire to strengthen the real sector of the economy. We have placed a special emphasis on expanding the dialogue in the economic sector, since we have almost no unresolved issues in politics, military-technical cooperation, and diplomacy. We have similar views on the key issues on the international agenda,” the president stressed.
The Belarusian head of state stated that Kazakhstan is one of the key trade partners of Belarus. Over the past three years, mutual trade has more than doubled. In 2018, bilateral trade made up $900 million. “We are close to reach the $1bn threshold in trade. There is a certain imbalance in trade in favor of Belarus, but the import from Kazakhstan has grown significantly in recent years,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
Belarus is ready to consider Kazakhstan’s proposals to balance out the trade, the president said. “Agreements have been reached on all the issues on the bilateral agenda. We are ready to move forward to turn from traditional trade to a bigger number of joint companies,” the Belarusian leader said.