English

Belarusian, Indian foreign ministers meet in Minsk

Belarusian Foreign Minister Syarhey Martynaw on September 17 received his visiting Indian counterpart, S.M. Krishna, to discuss bilateral cooperation and issues on the international agenda.

Mr. Martynaw told reporters following the meeting that Mr. Krishna and he had agreed that the two countries should exchange visits at the highest level.

The meeting focused on “major international issues that are of interest to Belarus and India, as well as on the entire spectrum of bilateral relations,” he said. “Belarus and India share views on international development trends and world order principles that could meet the 21st-century humankind’s needs. We agreed that cooperation should be stepped up and the system of international organizations and their agencies should reflect the reality of the modern world better than it does now.”

Mr. Martynaw said that Belarus wanted to see leading nations, including India, in the UN Security Council following its reform.

He said that he had discussed in detail economic cooperation with his Indian counterpart. Intergovernmental commissions on trade and economic cooperation; scientific and technical ties; and military and technical cooperation will hold meetings in Minsk in 2009 and 2010, according to him.

“We also agreed to continue work on the possible signing of an agreement on fight against terrorism,” the Belarusian minister noted.

Mr. Krishna, for his turn, said that his visit to Belarus was his first visit to a CIS country as foreign minister, noting that it was evidence of great importance attached by him to relations with the country.

He described his visit to Minsk as very fruitful.

India and Belarus have close political ties and cooperate intensively in various spheres, including science and technologies, he said, noting that two-way trade is growing as well. //BelaPAN