MINSK, 18 September (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said that cooperation with Latvia has great prospects as he appointed a new ambassador to this country on 18 September, BelTA has learned.
“You know that we are a landlocked country. So if Lithuania is reluctant to cooperate with us, we should focus on Latvia. We should act in a way that will make this country enjoy working with Belarus. We are decent people, we keep our promises, and they know it. If they meet us halfway across many proposals of ours, they will benefit from it handsomely,” the Belarusian leader said.
“They have realized that not everything is decided in Brussels. Maybe, they are doing well in the European Union. However, not everything can be settled. The European Union will provide support for some time, but after that one should earn money on their own. Together we can do it. The most important thing for us is securing an unobstructed access to the sea through Latvia to our own advantage. We should work in this direction,” Alexander Lukashenko said.
The president noted that Belarus' relations with Latvia are generally not bad. “They understand that they should live peacefully with Belarus and cooperate with it, because there are many things that keep us together. Latvia's economy is closely intertwined with Belarus' economy. We need to come to grips with all this, so we need a competent person there,” he said.
Alexander Lukashenko asked Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei to give his take on the personality of the new ambassador. “I am convinced he will handle it. He is a tough, principled and determined executive. He demonstrated all these qualities in his previous position [head of the main personnel directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs]. The task is clear and specific: to increase trade across all sectors. We are maintaining a meaningful political dialogue with Latvia; our trade and economic cooperation is gaining momentum; the bilateral trade is on the rise, so is our export. It is also important that the trade is growing without regard to oil products and fertilizers,” Vladimir Makei said.
At the same time, the Belarusian foreign minister is convinced that it is too early to be complacent, because Belarus and Latvia have not yet restored that level of bilateral trade that was achieved several years ago. However, some good progress has been made to reach this goal. The minister noted that he had recently visited Latvia where he discussed the use of port infrastructure, cooperation with Belarusian cement producers, high technology and mutual investments.
The minister noted that a political dialogue is also important. “You have been invited [to visit Latvia]. We will wait for the elections in Latvia in October this year. At the beginning or in the first half of next year we will arrange a meaningful visit of the head of state,” he said.
