Belarus views Kyrgyzstan as an important partner in the Central-Asian region, Belarusian Head of State Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiyev on October 11. In a one-on-one meeting the President of Belarus underscored that Belarus attach great significance to the development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation with Kyrgyzstan. “Your country is Belarus’ reliable friend in the CIS and the Eurasian Economic Community. We made sure of it at the summit on October 10 which considered the most important issues related to the development of our countries,” Alexander Lukashenko told Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Belarus and Kyrgyzstan have the common positions in the Collective Security Treaty Organization. “We have no political disagreements, our relations are a bright example of mutual understanding,” the Belarusian Head of State added. According to him, a high-level dialogue contributes a lot to the development of the Belarusian-Kyrgyz relations. The major cooperation areas in the Belarus-Kyrgyzstan relations were determined during Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s official visit to Belarus in November 2006. According to Alexander Lukashenko, the implementation of the joint agreements helped build up the potential of the bilateral links, first of all, in the economic area. Thus, in January-August 2008, the mutual trade grew 2.3 times in comparison with the same period of 2007. Alexander Lukashenko said that Belarus and Kyrgyzstan need to speed up the economic cooperation and focus On the development of concrete production-cooperation projects. The first step in this direction is setting up an assembly facility of Belarusian tractors in Kyrgyzstan. The Head of State said that in case the project is a success, Belarus is ready to open other assemblies in Kyrgyzstan. According to Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus can take part in Kyrgyz national programmes, first of all, in housing construction and hydro-power engineering. The President added that alongside the economy the two sides are set to develop cooperation in the social, cultural and information areas. Belarus will do its utmost to organize the Days of Culture of Kyrgyzstan in Belarus in 2009 at the highest level, Alexander Lukashenko said. Kurmanbek Bakiyev considers the present visit of the President of Belarus to Kyrgyzstan as a favorable opportunity to discuss cooperation prospects. He is confident that the meeting will become an important step in the development of the bilateral cooperation and help intensify the relations in the economic area. The Presidents adopted a joint declaration where they confirmed an intention to continue a constructive political dialogue and develop interstate relations based on mutual respect. The Heads of State praised the intensification of the bilateral trade and economic cooperation. The economic cooperation between the two countries will be boosted through mutually beneficial projects in different economic areas, establishment of direct links between the regions of the two countries and economic entities. The two sides will create the most favorable conditions for intensifying cooperation in these areas. The declaration says that the countries will continue close cooperation aimed at securing reliable joint activity within the common military and strategic space based on the Collective Security Treaty of May 15, 1992. Belarus and Kyrgyzstan are ready to expand and strengthen the military and technical cooperation based upon the interests of the national and regional security. The sides agreed there is a necessity to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism, illegal turnover of drugs, human trafficking, organized crime and other threats and challenges on the bilateral basis and within international organizations. The Heads of State also took note of the need to continue the work on improving the CIS activity and praised active cooperation in the Eurasian Economic Community. The Presidents were present at a signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between the Finance Ministries of the two countries, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of Belarus and the Ministry of Labour and Social Development of Kyrgyzstan, a protocol on cooperation between the foreign political departments, a protocol on cooperation between the Culture Ministry of Belarus and the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kyrgyzstan 2009-2012. The Mayors of Minsk and Bishkek inked an agreement on establishing twin-town links between the two capitals. The National State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company of Belarus signed a cooperation agreement with the National TV Broadcasting Corporation of Kyrgyzstan; BelTA News Agency inked an agreement on an exchange of information with KABAR National News Agency of Kyrgyzstan. Alexander Lukashenko underscored that Kyrgyzstan is a very important partner for Belarus. The Belarusian Head of State said that the two countries have no problems in the area of political cooperation and there is no clash of interests. According to Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian side is ready to receive Kyrgyz emergencies specialists and share the experience in the High-Tech Park development. The Belarusian leader is confident that the capitals of Belarus and Kyrgyzstan will play an important role in promoting close cooperation between the two countries. According to Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus is ready to purchase agricultural products in Kyrgyzstan. The President added that Belarus is interested in further development of the production of the Belarusian tractors in Kyrgyzstan. The Belarusian leader praised the level of organization of the CIS and EurAsEC summits in Bishkek. Kurmanbek Bakiyev thanked the Belarusian President for his active participation in the EurAsEC and CIS summits in Bishkek. He said that the presidents were able to discuss a wide range of issues and took note of positive changes in the bilateral relations. The Kyrgyz President is confident that cooperation between Belarus and Kyrgyzstan will continue developing, first of all, in the economic area. In his words, there are good prerequisites for the growth in mutual trade. On the same day, the Presidents took part in an opening ceremony of the Belarus 82.1 tractor joint assembly workshop. The payload capacity will reach 1,000 vehicles per year. Alexander Lukashenko and Kurmanbek Bakiyev attended an exhibition of products of the Minsk Tractor Works. The President of Kyrgyzstan praised the quality of the Belarusian vehicles. БЕЛТА
Written by belta.by
