Global Voice
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed decree No.107 on 21 March to approve a Belarus-India draft intergovernmental agreement on cooperation and mutual aid in customs affairs as the basis for negotiations, BelTA has learned.
The State Customs Committee has been authoriSed to conduct negotiations on the draft agreement and sign the document.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Sergei Aleinik, paid an official visit to India on 12-13 March 2024 at the invitation of External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar.
During the visit, the Belarusian Foreign Minister had fruitful meetings with External Affairs Minister (EAM), Dr S. Jaishankar, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal (CIM) and Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers & Health and Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya. He also met Secretary Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Dr Vivek Joshi in addition to interaction with the Indian business community.
At the meeting with EAM on 12 March 2024, the two Ministers reviewed the state of India-Belarus bilateral ties and discussed ways to enhance the development partnership and bilateral cooperation in sectors such as trade, economy, insurance, defence, education, IT and science & technology. They also discussed the regional/global issues of mutual interest and cooperation in various multilateral groupings/organizations such as UN, SCO and others.
The Belarusian Foreign Minister’s meeting with the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya, on 12 March 2024, focused on ways to develop and strengthen cooperation in areas such as health, pharmaceuticals and fertilizers. During the meeting with CIM Shri Piyush Goyal, both sides discussed various aspects of the bilateral economic partnership including ways to enhance bilateral trade through cooperation in manufacture of EVs, agriculture machinery and harvesting equipment. The two Ministers stressed the need to generate greater awareness about available business opportunities among the business communities of the two countries.
The Belarusian delegation also engaged with Indian business and industry through an interaction coordinated by FICCI on Mar 12.
India and Belarus enjoy comprehensive relations across a large spectrum of areas. They have established mechanisms for furthering bilateral cooperation and sharing views on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest through Foreign Office Consultations, an Intergovernmental Commission (IGC), and Joint Working Groups. The last visit of a Foreign Minister of Belarus, the Late Mr Vladimir Makei, to India was in November 2022 for the 11th Session of the India-Belarus Joint Commission on Trade, Economy, Industry, Science, Technology and Culture (IGC-TEC) during which bilateral meetings with EAM, CIM and Minister for Chemicals & Fertilisers were also held.
