MINSK, 2 February (BelTA) – India is a long-standing and reliable partner for Belarus in Asia, Chair of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova said as she met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to Belarus Alok Ranjan, BelTA has learned.
“I am sincerely happy to welcome you at the Council of the Republic and I am very pleased to meet you personally. India is a long-time friend and reliable partner for Belarus in Asia. We highly appreciate the good relations between our countries,” Natalya Kochanova said.
The speaker recalled that in April 2022 Belarus and India will mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. “I think this is a good occasion to take stock of our cooperation. We greatly value the high level of relations between our countries and peoples. Undoubtedly, friendly relations between Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the tone for interstate cooperation. This allows us to build a better understanding of the processes going on around our countries and, of course, support each other. Inter-parliamentary contacts also play their part. A Belarus-India parliamentary friendship group was set up in Belarus. We would be happy to have a similar friendship group in the Indian parliament. It is also important in the current conditions that the two countries back each other in international organizations,” Natalya Kochanova said.
As far as the economy is concerned, in January-November 2021 bilateral trade reached almost $500 million. “This is pretty good, but we can do much better,” said Natalya Kochanova. The speaker expressed her gratitude to India for the supply of medicines to treat COVID-19.
“We are promoting cooperation in absolutely all areas, including in humanitarian matters. We are glad that the number of Indian students in our universities is increasing, the Days of Belarusian Culture are held in India and the Days of Indian Culture take place in Belarus. We would like to give a fresh impetus to bilateral contacts. We will be very happy if the prime minister of India visits our country, we also invite our Indian MPs to visit Belarus to strengthen inter-parliamentary contacts and promote friendship between our peoples and our countries,” Natalya Kochanova said.
Alok Ranjan noted that 2022 is a very important year for India. “This year marks 75 years of India's independence and the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries. Any anniversary is an occasion not only to upgrade relations, but also to identify new avenues of cooperation. We hope we will succeed. Relations with Belarus are the strongest in the entire region. As in any relations, there are areas with untapped potential. This is particularly true about trade and economic cooperation. The $500 million trade is absolutely not what we are capable of. Our economies are complementary. Belarus is the largest supplier of potash fertilizers, while India is their largest consumer. This is just one example. Other examples include mechanical engineering, agriculture, and military hardware,” the ambassador said.
