Meeting with India Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi

Belarus-India relations need an additional impetus for development, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the meeting with India Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi in Tashkent on 24 June. “Our relations are increasingly vibrant. But in recent years I feel that an additional impetus is needed to develop these ties,” the Belarusian leader said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that during the visit of the India President to Minsk the sides agreed to raise the bilateral trade turnover to $1 billion by 2018. Of course, an economic roadmap should be developed to reach this volume, the head of state said.

According to the President, Belarus and India have a solid legal framework for the enhancement of relations. The sides are also implementing a number of serious bilateral projects, in particular, in the pharmaceutical industry and other fields. “Our academies of sciences maintain robust cooperation. India and Belarus successfully implement sci-tech projects in the energy sector, space exploration, ‘green industry’, nano- and biotechnology, robotic science, pharmaceutics, nuclear energy,” Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked. “We have plans to visit the international trade expo in New Delhi in November 2016. Plans have been also made to host the Days of Belarusian Science in India.”

“In brief, there are good prospects of cooperation, but I think that we cannot stand still. We should make progress. And of course, we believe that you will enhance your presence in Europe. It will benefit great India, and we are ready to promote your interests in Belarus,” the Belarusian leader added.