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MINSK, 29 September (BelTA) – Bad relations with the EU helped Belarus find good friends in Asia, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksim Ryzhenkov told Belarusian media in New York where he had arrived to participate in UN events, BelTA has learned.
“Under the current circumstances, surprisingly, had we not had such bad relations with the European Union, we would have never sought such closer relations with our partners in the Asian region. We had to redirect our logistics and trade routes, rethink foreign economic contacts and foreign policy, and as a result we have built very good, solid friendships there, and these new-found friends are also interested in cooperating with us and we can lean on them to grow further,” the foreign minister said.
He noted that cooperation with Asian countries is not only about trade or exchange of technologies, but also about the development of humanitarian contacts and tourism. They say now that in the current conditions it has become much easier and faster to get to a distant Asian country than to any country west of Brest. “We connect with these countries even more strongly through such human contacts,” Maksim Ryzhenkov remarked.
The foreign minister noted that China is Belarus' most important partner in Asia. “Today, trade with China is comparable to trade with the entire European Union. We maintain good relations with India, Pakistan, Iran, the Gulf states. Not to mention that we are very well represented in Central Asia,” Belarus' top diplomat noted.
According to him, he held bilateral consultations on a wide range of matters with representatives of many of these countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. The parties compared notes, discussed upcoming events, reviewed ongoing projects, and outlined some new ones.
Maksim Ryzhenkov recalled that in the near future Aleksandr Lukashenko will take part in the BRICS Summit in Kazan; a highest-level visit to Pakistan is also planned. Meetings with the leader of the PRC are held regularly. Next year, given China's SCO chairmanship, there will be a good occasion for a visit. The prime minister is also expected to visit a number of Asian countries.
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