Meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei

The optimization of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the development of foreign economic activities were discussed at the meeting of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko with Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei on 18 January.

“You wanted to discuss some issues concerning the optimization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with me. I am ready to discuss any issues so that we could make a decision,” the head of state said.

At the same time, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that he is, first of all, interested in foreign economic activities. “In simple terms I am aware of the results. But you have more precise information. Please inform e about the prospects of diversifying foreign trade, the operation of our embassies in a couple of words,” the President said.

Vladimir Makei said that there was positive dynamics in the development of foreign trade in 2017. “The export went up 23%. Two thirds of this increase is attributed to the growth of prices, one third – to the physical growth of export. That is why, we can say that this is a positive trend in general,” the minister of foreign affairs said.

“Thorough analysis shows that there are no reasons for self-complacency. As for diversification, there has been progress in this field, but we still need to do a lot,” the minister said.