Meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev

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Belarus is ready to advance relations with Uzbekistan as fast as possible. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement as he met with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Sochi, Russia on 11 October.

The head of state mentioned Belarus’ intention to advance interaction with Uzbekistan along all the avenues both countries are interested in. “You can rest assured we will do it fast. As fast as partners in Uzbekistan can keep up with us,” Aleksandr Lukashenko assured.

Belarus is ready for active actions in trade and economy. “If the state does not give a nudge, if me and you don’t keep an eye on these processes, problems will not be dealt with,” the President remarked.

As a promising avenue of cooperation Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned textile industry. “You have cotton, we have technologies. And markets nearby. I am in favor of joint ventures. We can easily come to terms,” the Belarusian leader said.

According to the head of state, the advancement of Belarus-Uzbekistan relations was slow in the past. Everything changed when Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Samarkand a year ago. The decision to do one’s best to advance the bilateral cooperation was made then. “It was a lightning-like meeting but it became momentous. You and I came to terms without signing any documents. We assigned people responsible and things started moving,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.

He also pointed out that Belarus was the most advanced republic of the Soviet Union. The country has managed to preserve and develop all the necessary industries, which had been evolving for decades, and to encourage them to work for export. “We now sell technologies and merchandise. They beat foreign competition as far as prices and quality are concerned. It is the secret of why we can work in Venezuela, in Egypt, in Sudan, why we can work everywhere,” the Belarusian leader noted.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in turn, said that in recent years the cooperation between the two countries has increased markedly. The states demonstrate achievements in trade and economic cooperation. “Next year I would like to have a full-fledged ambassador of Uzbekistan in Belarus because we see growth in all economic sectors,” he said.

According to the President of Uzbekistan, there are good prospects for cooperation in the light and heavy industries, agriculture, information technologies, healthcare, military and technical cooperation.