Meeting to discuss outcomes of visits to foreign countries

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko set goals based on the outcomes of the recent visits to foreign countries as he hosted a meeting at the Palace of Independence. The head of state demanded that the government and other parties promptly join the efforts to implement the agreements that were reached.

“I would like to review the outcomes of the visits of the government delegation and my visits to the so-called ‘far arc’ countries. I think that by now you and other people should have built a clear understanding of what the ‘far arc’ is,” the President said.

In fact, the geography of the visits stretched from the Pacific to the Atlantic. “This is the ‘far arc’ that we should work with,” noted Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The President explained that the ‘near arc’ includes Belarus’ neighbors and partners from the CIS countries.

“Russia and the People’s Republic of China are two states with which we have the most advanced relations; yet, this is another story. You know that the President’s decisions on each of these states have been adopted and are being implemented,” the Belarusian leader emphasized. “And the ‘far arc’ has been defined. The states that are of great interest to us are located to the north and south,” he added.

Cooperation with India

Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned India, although neither the President nor the government have visited this country recently.

“There are some unresolved issues in our work with India. Back in the day, the former foreign minister tried to come to grips with them,” the head of state noted.

He instructed incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Aleinik to put forward proposals on how to deal with these issues no later than the first quarter of next year. “I want to see a specific plan for India. I reiterate that this should be a specific plan. Just like the one for Equatorial Guinea. We don’t need tourist trips. We need to figure out how to deal with certain issues,” the head of state explained.

Implementation of agreements with Africa

“When it comes to Africa, I want to warn everyone. I have invited the vice premiers to this meeting, although they don’t know the details of these preparatory visits of our specialists and ministers. I have invited you to ask you to oversee the fulfillment of the arrangements reached during these trips,” the President said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the work with Equatorial Guinea was approached differently on the part of Belarus: “Everything was proceeding under my strict control. The foreign minister had come to this country to establish contacts; after that experts got involved. Having visited this country prior to my visit, the ministers outlined 15 main areas of our work and 74 specific projects that we agreed to implement jointly with our friends in Equatorial Guinea. And they must be implemented. I absolutely insist on this and warn you against the failure to deliver.”

In this regard, the head of state instructed Presidential Aide Aleksandr Kosinets to oversee the work with Equatorial Guinea and Kenya in the Belarus President Administration. “You will be the pointman, take this matter under control, study all the aspects of this matter. This work should be under control of the Belarus President Administration. I don’t want situations that occasionally happen with us when we have to revisit our relations with foreign partners, scrap something or add something. We have reached agreements and we need to implement these projects,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

He noted that during his trip to Equatorial Guinea, he openly said that Belarus was not going to engage in any charity. “We are not the money-printing America. And not China that has a huge amount of reserves. And not even Russia. We should take care of our financial interests and work extremely conscientiously. We have very good prospects there. They need the kind of products that we can produce,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

Speaking about Kenya, the President addressed Viktor Sheiman: “I have already told you during the flight to get involved in African matters in the way you used to be. You should oversee this matter as a special envoy of the President. Regarding Kenya, you know that their President asked us to help with three big things and we can benefit from helping them with these and other matters, too. Therefore, Africa, and Kenya in particular, is your area of responsibility. You were the one to get our foot in the door there. So you will be responsible for it now.”

Fruitful visit to China

As for the People’s Republic of China, First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov should be responsible for the work with this country. Nikolai Snopkov attended the recent highest-level negotiations in Beijing together with Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Aleinik.

Aleksandr Lukashenko called the visit to China very useful and productive. China is ready to work on the issues that were discussed during the visit: “We have never heard ‘no’ [during the negotiations]. Chinese President Xi Jinping was receptive to all our proposals saying that China was ready to go deeper, to join efforts and to proceed in a friendly manner.”

“China is the future of the entire planet. Having good relations with it will stand us in good stead, this is our achievement,” the head of state emphasized.

The UAE

“As for the Emirates, they are working with us on individual matters. There is no slowdown anywhere. We have agreed to consider joint projects in Africa (they have a very big interest in it). Taking into consideration their influence in the world and their financial resources, they can do a lot there. Therefore, if they are interested in certain projects, they are welcome to join us,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

General tasks

The head of state encouraged all the participants of the meeting to work effectively, consistently and promptly to implement the agreements reached with various countries. To do this, it is important to work as a team. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be an umbrella entity for everyone involved in this work. It should assume the coordinating role. Let's see how the new foreign minister will deal with these issues. There are a huge number of issues. This is why I have told both Sheiman and Kosinets to get involved. The government and ministers will have to implement all agreements. I warn you against any slowdown or setbacks,” said the Belarusian leader.