Meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia on 23 October.

"It's nice to see friends!” the Belarusian head of state warmly greeted the Venezuelan leader. “We are happy for your successes, we salute your indomitable courage. We are very grateful for your courage and resilience. This gives us strength and inspires confidence."

For his part, Nicolas Maduro noted that “the fight is hard, and this fight leads to victory. We are now opening up new horizons, in the 21st century” adding that big plans are in the works that are aimed into the future."

He emphasized the great role of Hugo Chavez (the former President of Venezuela, with whom Nicolas Maduro worked as Minister of Foreign Affairs) in the development of Venezuela and building up interaction with Belarus. “I remember the very warm, friendly relations you had with President Chavez,” the Venezuelan President said addressing the Belarusian leader. “Today the Venezuelan people have the same warm regard towards Belarus.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that it was a great pleasure for him to have the opportunity to meet Nicolas Maduro in person. “You said about the victory, about the future victory. If we mean it globally, then you are right. As for your victory, you have already won more than once, and we are happy for you,” the head of state said.

The President of Belarus also paid tribute to Hugo Chavez’s great role in the development of Venezuela and the bilateral relations with Belarus. “No matter what we discuss with you today, tomorrow and in the future, we will always have Hugo with us. We have the high regard for this man,” the Belarusian leader stressed. Aleksandr Lukashenko also recalled that Nicolas Maduro had previously attended his talks with Hugo Chávez in the capacity of the minister of foreign affairs. The President pointed out that Nicolas Maduro has always been a supporter of the development of relations between the two countries. "He has always advocated the relations with Belarus," the head of state said. "I still remember Chávez consulting with you on the relations with Belarus. Your opinion has been at the heart of the relations that we have been built," the President said.

"Today President Nicolas Maduro pursues the policy that Chávez had. You and your supporters are committed to Chávez and his policies. You guys are just great. You have not deviated an inch. This merits the greatest respect," Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.

The Belarusian head of state recalled that the prime minister had recently visited Venezuela on his instructions “to take the first step towards deepening relations”. “This includes revising the bilateral relations, discarding what no longer works, keeping what is still relevant, and coming up with something new. We are now working on a new cooperation roadmap, a plan for the future. I think we should follow this path. We need to have a clear vision of what we should do together in these conditions.”

Nicolás Maduro said that he is on the same page with the Belarusian President: “We will keep working together, we will go along the path that Hugo Chávez followed. This is the path of Simón Bolívar [Latin American statesman, political and military leader, national hero of Venezuela]. And all this leads to new successes.”