New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Belarus counterpart Sergei Aleinik, discussed the regional and global issues of mutual interest and cooperation in various multilateral groupings and organizations such as the UN, SCO, and others, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
External Affairs Minister of Belarus, Sergei Aleinik, paid an official visit to India on 12-13 March at the invitation of External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar. During the visit, the Belarusian Foreign Minister had fruitful meetings with the External Affairs Minister (EAM), Jaishankar, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya.
Notably, Belarus is all set to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation by this year. India has been supporting Belarus's application for full-fledged membership at the SCO. Meanwhile, Belarussian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik has backed India's bid for a permanent seat at the UNSC. He also met the Secretary of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Vivek Joshi in addition to interacting with the Indian business community.
At the meeting with EAM, 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, defense, education, IT, and science & technology. They also discussed the regional and global issues of mutual interest and cooperation in various multilateral groupings/organisations such as the UN, SCO, and others.
The Belarusian Foreign Minister’s meeting with the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals, and Fertilizers, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, focussed on ways to develop and strengthen cooperation in areas such as health, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizers.
During the meeting with Piyush Goyal, both sides discussed various aspects of the bilateral economic partnership including ways to enhance bilateral trade through cooperation in the 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.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, 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 Foreign Minister of Belarus, the Late 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).
More Read
