MINSK, 28 November (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko met with outgoing Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Belarus Yergali Bulegenov, BelTA has learned.
“This is a good prelude to the upcoming official visit of the Kazakhstan president to Belarus. This is good. The bad thing is seeing friends leave. I stress it once again: for us, you are not a stranger. You have done a lot for our countries to have good relations and for our people to be close,” the head of state underlined.
Alexander Lukashenko pointed out that for Belarus Kazakhstan is one of the closest countries. “We are members of an economic union, we do not have any political contradictions, and we share the same view on the international agenda. We hardly have any disagreements. You have made a great contribution to strengthening Kazakhstan-Belarus friendship,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
“I hope that you will always be a friend of the Belarusian people and our state, and wherever you work, you will remember that a part of your life was dedicated to Belarus,” Alexander Lukashenko added.
In turn, Yergali Bulegenov said that he has fallen in love with Belarus and will keep very pleasant memories of the country. He also pointed to the importance of patriotic education and memory of the Great Patriotic War and its heroes, the things which get a lot of attention in Belarus.
The meeting was held in the run-up to the official visit of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev to Belarus timed to the 25th anniversary of Belarus-Kazakhstan relations. The heads of state will discuss expanding trade, economic, investment, industrial collaboration, developing transport and logistics infrastructure, and other promising avenues of cooperation. The presidents are also expected to take part in a Belarus-Kazakhstan business forum.
In January-September 2017, bilateral trade reached $485.8 million, up 64.8% from the same period a year prior. Belarus exported $425.4 million worth of products, mainly milk and dairy products, tractors and tractor units, trucks, meat and meat products, furniture, grain harvesters, sugar, medicines, tires, chipboards, cables, elevators, plastic packing, and ceramic tiles.
Belarus-Kazakhstan trade in services totaled $128 million in January-September 2017, up 2.1 times from the same period of 2016. Belarus' export almost reached $100 million.
The commodity distribution network of Belarusian companies in Kazakhstan comprises 36 entities with the participation of Belarusian capital and over 160 members of the dealer network. The two countries also operate 8 joint ventures.
There are 36 companies with Kazakhstan's capital in Belarus, including 11 joint and 25 foreign ones.
