Meeting with Kyrgyzstan Ambassador to Belarus Ermek Ibraimov

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Kyrgyzstan Ambassador to Belarus Ermek Ibraimov in Minsk on 30 October.

"I often think about the interaction of Belarus with the post-Soviet republics. Take Kyrgyzstan for example. I usually come to the conclusion that we cooperate with the republics spontaneously. Something is left over from the Soviet period. For example, we used to buy sugar beet seeds from you. We continue to do so. We are satisfied with the quality and so on. But we are yet to approach the cooperation in the systemic way, we are yet to draw up a roadmap of cooperation between Belarus and the republics of the former Soviet Union who want to cooperate with us," the President said.

At the same time, such an approach is applied to cooperation with other countries, including remote countries. "We make separate decisions with regard to the cooperation with individual countries. For example, we issue Presidential decrees on cooperation with Russia, China and so on," the Belarusian leader said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko assumed that it is about the attitude to cooperation with the post-Soviet republics: "They are already our cousins, we will always have good relations with them. On the other hand, we need such roadmaps."

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to put together country plans for relations, especially with Kyrgyzstan. We have a lot to offer Kyrgyzstan. They have a lot of things that we need. We must build on such ties," the head of state stressed.

“We had some $170 million in trade last year, but it is nothing if we are talking about the trade between the countries. We have such trade figures with many provinces of Russia and even much higher. Therefore, we need to increase trade with Kyrgyzstan,” the Belarusian leader said. 

The meeting with the Kyrgyzstan ambassador was held in connection with the completion of his diplomatic mission in Belarus, so Aleksandr Lukashenko asked him to remember Belarus and to promote further cooperation with the country in his new post. “If you continue to serve in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan or work somewhere else, please remember about it. Give your advice on the matter when it is needed,” the head of state said.

“I hope that the four and a half years that you have spent working in Belarus will be a good stepping stone in your career. Of course, you will remember about this time here. I hope you will have good memories of Belarus. We are friendly people. We are hospitable people, the same as the people of Kyrgyzstan, by the way. Therefore, you will remember with kind words the years of your diplomatic service in Belarus. We hope that wherever you work in the future, you will be truly our man, you will promote the interests of Belarus in the interests of Kyrgyzstan, of course,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The head of state emphasized that the supply of necessary machinery and equipment, joint production in Kyrgyzstan can be much wider than it is now. Currently, the parties are implementing cooperation projects on joint production of elevator equipment and transformers there.

“We can produce everything in your country and train your people. We can share technologies that are new for you. These are the technologies to make transformers, elevators, tractors, cars and so on. You know what we can produce. For Kyrgyzstan, the level of technological equipment of a country like Belarus is high. We are ready to share these technologies,” the President said.

He noted that the division of labor between the countries was done like this during the Soviet time: “You did some things and we did others. Now these technologies are in demand in Kyrgyzstan. We are ready to share them.”

“In short, you have studied Belarus well during this time. If you continue working in the area, I ask you to remember what opportunities we have to offer the people of Kyrgyzstan,” the head of state said.

Ermek Ibraimov, in turn, thanked the head of state for the opportunity to meet: "For me personally, it was important to meet with you, to report on what has been done in 4.5 years, before I leave for Bishkek. I will also report on this issue in Bishkek."

The diplomat noted that he fully shares the opinion of the Belarusian President on bilateral trade. Indeed, when looking at the absolute figures, they may not seem so large, but in relative indicators, there is a positive trend: $160.2 million in 2022 (an increase of almost 65% over 2021) and $103.3 million in January-August of this year (up by 24% year-on-year). "If we look at the relative figures, the percentage of growth, the trade inspires some optimism," the ambassador said. "Considering the fact that this trend continues…"

"Are you saying that over the past three years our trade has increased by 2.5 times?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked. "That's true."