Jaishankar holds talks with Belarusian counterpart on economic ties

 

• Foreign Minister of Belarus, Vladimir Meki arrives in New Delhi on November 9, 2022 for a two-day visit to India

New Delhi :

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held talks with his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Meki on a range of issues including bilateral economic ties, Ukraine conflict and multilateral cooperation.

The Foreign Minister of Belarus, Vladimir Makei arrives in New Delhi on November 9, 2022 for a two-day visit to India.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Vladimir Mackie will attend an event in Delhi on November 10, 2022. He will return to Belarus on November 11, 2022.

"Met Vladimir Meki, FM of Belarus who is in India for our Inter-Governmental Commission meeting. Our discussions covered bilateral economic relations, Ukraine conflict and multilateral cooperation."

India's relations with Belarus have traditionally been warm and cordial. India was one of the first countries to recognize Belarus as an independent country in 1991. Formal diplomatic relations were established and the Indian diplomatic mission in Minsk was opened in 1992 and Belarus opened its mission in New Delhi in 1998.

Cooperation, agreements and partnerships between the two countries are evident at various multilateral fora such as the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Belarus was one of the countries whose support played a key role in consolidating India's candidature for a temporary seat in the UNSC in July 2020.

India supported Belarus for its membership in other international and multilateral fora such as NAM and IPU. India's support to various resolutions in Geneva and New York targeting Belarus for human rights violations and restrictions on freedom of expression has been appreciated by Belarus. Belarus recognizes India as an emerging global power and seeks to develop "strategic ties" with India.

Comprehensive and cooperative relations between India and Belarus have established mechanisms for exchange of views on bilateral and multilateral matters through Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), Intergovernmental Commission (IOC) and Joint Commission on Military Technical Cooperation .

Both the countries have signed several MoUs on various issues like trade and economic matters, health and higher education, tourism, culture, sports, science and technology, defense etc. India's incentives for Belarusian businessmen, businessmen and investors to invest in 'Make in India' projects are also bearing fruit.