Meeting with Walid al Muallem, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic

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Since the first days of the conflict in Syria, Belarus has been on the side of the Syrian people and government, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Walid al Muallem, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic, on 22 July.

“We are closely following the situation in Syria, the events unfolding on your soil. Since the very first days of the Syrian conflict, we have been on the side of the Syrian people, on the side of your President. We have supported Syria’s fair position in every way we could and we will keep doing it,” the President said.

The head of state emphasized that Belarus and Syria can cooperate across all matters. “We are ready to do everything we can. You can always count on Belarus while rebuilding your country after this terrible war,” the Belarusian head of state said.

Walid al Muallem said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appreciates the support Aleksandr Lukashenko and the Belarusian people provided to Syria in this difficult period. “We have been in Belarus for several days already and we really like the progress achieved thanks to your leadership. We really count on Belarus’ particpiation in rebuilding Syria and we will give preference to all Belarusian companies seeking to be part of it,” the Minister said.

During the meeting the parties noted that the two countries should intensify economic cooperation that currently lags behind close political contacts between the two states. This is believed to be the major task of bilateral relations. Syria pins great hopes on the forthcoming session of the intergovernmental commission for trade, economic and technical cooperation. The event will take place in Damascus. It has yet to be scheduled.

Walid al Muallem thanked Belarus for taking Syrian children for recuperation and asked to extend this recuperation program for another several years. The President assured that this matter will be given due consideration.

The parties discussed the current developments in Syria. The Minister updated the Belarusian head of state on the situation in the country and discussed possible ways of conflict resolution.