Meeting with Ambassador of India to Belarus Alok Ranjan Jha

Belarus would like to find its niche in India’s growing economy, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Republic of Belarus Alok Ranjan Jha.

“As a historian I strongly believe (and we will see this in the near future) that the whole world will be guided in their development by that part of Asia where India is located. Great China, huge India. These are very promising and dynamically growing economies that will set the pace for the whole world in the near future. We welcome such a future for the planet and naturally would like to find our place in the growing Indian economy. We would like to enjoy the support of the Indian state at all levels. We will return the favor,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko thanked the diplomat for the balanced stance on Belarus. “I won’t say that everything is settled and that we don’t have any problems, but I hope that the existing problems in our relations will be solved,” the head of state said.

The President emphasized that India is one of Belarus’ most important partners in Asia, and the foundation of this cooperation was laid back in the days of the Soviet Union: “We have a long history of cooperation, especially in the Soviet period. The Soviet Union always prioritized cooperation with India. This groundwork allows us to build good relations with your state in politics, and especially in economy.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that this year India marks the 75th anniversary of independence. Belarus and India have been cooperating as sovereign and independent states for 30 years. The head of state congratulated the ambassador on the independence anniversary and wished prosperity to the great, huge, hardworking and talented Indian nation.

Alok Ranjan Jha, in turn, thanked the Belarusian head of state for the opportunity to meet and the kind words towards India: "It is a great honor to meet with you again."

"You say that India is an important partner of Belarus," the ambassador said in response to Aleksandr Lukashenko's statement. “Let me assure you that Belarus is one of the most important partners in this region for India as well. As I have already said more than once in my interactions with the Belarusian government, relations between Belarus and India do not depend on relations between India and other partners, states. Like Belarus, India is also going through an important phase of development and it will be an honor for it to move in this direction together with Belarus and go this path of economic development."