Miory Regional Executive Committee

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko proposes to work out directions for intensifying cooperation with Tajikistan, especially against the backdrop of a recent decline in trade turnover. The head of state announced this at a meeting with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Tajikistan to Belarus Bakhtovar Safarzoda, a BELTA correspondent reports.
"Let's intensify our relations. Emomali Sharipovich (President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon. - BELTA note) and I will discuss in the near future at the first opportunity how to define the directions for intensifying our relations. And you, as an ambassador, a very active, promising diplomat, I think, will contribute to the development of our relations," said the head of state.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that the economy and trade and economic cooperation are the basis for any interstate relations. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reassures me that last year's decline in trade turnover was insignificant and so on. But I am an economist and I am used to looking at processes dynamically. Last year, we did not significantly reduce trade turnover, but compared to the previous year. And the previous year showed a decent decrease in trade turnover. Therefore, overall, we have reduced trade turnover," the head of state stated.

"We cannot destroy the foundation of our relations. As I said, the basis is trade and economic relations. Therefore, we need to work hard here to return trade turnover, to begin with, to the stage it was at. And of course, we have enough products, goods to increase this trade turnover," the President is confident.

He emphasized that a trade turnover of $70, 80, or even $100 million is almost nothing for Belarus and Tajikistan, considering their existing potential. "We need to look for opportunities to increase trade turnover. We need to define it, as we always do. I am confident that Tajikistan will accept such proposals. We need to define the goods that we can mutually trade and exchange," said Alexander Lukashenko. "You know our capabilities well. We have everything necessary that Tajikistan needs. This applies to industry, agriculture, and the supply of automotive equipment, especially heavy-duty trucks. You are doing a lot of development work in the mining industry. We can provide you with significant help and support in this area."

He stressed that there are no closed topics in relations with Tajikistan and Belarus is ready to cooperate, including in the military-industrial complex. "You also know our capabilities. Tell us how we can help in ensuring your security. We are ready to get involved, although we have already taken many steps in this direction," the head of state noted.

"In short, there are a multitude of problems and an equal number of tasks that need to be solved. We are ready for this," Alexander Lukashenko summarized.

He emphasized that both countries know each other's capabilities well, and long-standing friendly and trusting relations have been established between the peoples of Belarus and Tajikistan, as well as between the leaders of these states. "Our relations with President Emomali Sharipovich Rahmon are the most advanced, one might say. We have no secrets from each other. Therefore, we are building very good, friendly relations," the President said.

He asked the diplomat to convey the warmest and kindest congratulations to the President of Tajikistan on the occasion of the New Year. "I very much want it to be the most successful for the Tajik people, Tajikistan, and your leader," the head of state wished.

In turn, Bakhtovar Safarzoda conveyed warm, kind, friendly greetings from the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon to the head of the Belarusian state, and also expressed gratitude for the meeting. "We know you as a great friend of the Republic of Tajikistan and a sincere friend of our leader. Your friendship is a matter of pride for us, diplomats, representatives of state authorities, and the fraternal peoples of the two countries," the ambassador emphasized.

Based on the results of 2022, bilateral trade with Tajikistan amounted to over $78 million, with Belarusian exports totaling almost $70 million.

Based on the results of January-November 2023, trade in goods amounted to $67.4 million. In addition, in January-October of last year, the volume of trade in services amounted to $6.4 million.

In Belarus, 9 enterprises with Tajik capital are registered, including 2 joint ventures and 7 foreign enterprises. In Tajikistan, there are over 20 entities in the sales network of Belarusian enterprises and one joint venture. Assembly of various equipment, including MTZ and Gomselmash, has been established at the CJSC "Agroservice" (Gissar district), and elevators of OJSC "Mogilevliftmash" are assembled at the site in the city of Khujand.

In October 2022, during the visit of the President of Belarus to Tajikistan, a roadmap for bilateral cooperation for 2022-2026 was signed. The document consists of 39 points. Of these, 6 have been completed, 33 are in the implementation stage, including 21 implemented on an ongoing basis.

Source: belta.by