Meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Belarus Yermukhamet Yertysbayev

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Belarus Yermukhamet Yertysbayev on 23 May.

“I think that apart from the EAEU summit we will be able to hold meetings with the Kazakhstan President and the first President of your country to discuss the prospects of our cooperation,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The head of state said that he had visited Kazakhstan many times. He is happy to meet with the Kazakhstani ambassador in the run-up to the visit to Nur-Sultan. “I know Kazakhstan very well. I have visited southern, central and northern regions. Kazakhstan is a wonderful and dynamically developing country. Complicated processes are happening in the political field. Of course, a parliamentary election and a new President have a corresponding impact on life, the society, even the economy,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

“Our meeting is on time. I think that we will manage to outline major issues in spite of a short period of time,” the President added.

Yermukhamet Yertysbayev, in turn, stressed that Kazakhstan is waiting for the official visit of the Belarusian leader in H2 2019. “We want to bolster all our agreements which were made on 29-30 November 2017 [during the official visit of Nursultan Nazarbayev to Belarus], advance our bilateral relations to a brand-new level,” he said.

“Belarus is very important for us. For example, co-chairman of Kazakhstan-Belarus intergovernmental commission [Askar Mamin] became prime minister, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with you in Belarus and became President,” the diplomat said with a humorous note.

The ambassador agreed that it is essential to balance out Belarus-Kazakhstan trade. “Of course, we would like to change the trade structure. Kazakhstan’s trade deficit now makes up almost $700 million,” he said. “I met with Prime Minister [Sergei] Rumas, First Vice Premier [Aleksandr] Turchin. Belarus is ready to buy plain steel, scrap iron, nonferrous metals,” the diplomat said.