OREANDA-NEWS. October 08, 2010. The Belarus President, summarizing the results of his recent visit to Turkey, emphasized the country has promising future into several areas of cooperation with that country, particularly, engineering, light and transport industries. The relevant statement was made by Alexander Lukashenko in his meeting with Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergei Martynov on 7 October.

Turkey is an important foreign economic partner of Belarus. Today it is a powerful industrial state. GDP in Turkey makes up more than USD 600 billion. This country has already reached high industrial development. This year the industrial output exceeded 10%, what demonstrates the country’s rapid recovery from the crisis.

Belarus and Turkey established trade relations long ago. Over the five precrisis years the bilateral trade soared 6 times. In January-June 2010 it grew 40%.

The Belarusian leader instructed to develop cooperation with Turkey in the engineering industry. Turkey is a country with a well-developed minerals industry, efficient and modern agriculture. The country needs a constantly renewing industrial park. Here Belarus can provide assistance in the deliveries of tractors, dump trucks and MAZ vehicles.

The two sides are interested in setting up joint companies to assemble Belarusian tractors in Turkey. Besides, they are both keen on assembling MAZ trucks on the territory of Turkey.

Belarus and Turkey have good prospects in the light industry, first of all, in cotton manufacture. In particular, Turkey shows interest in upgrading and privatization of Belarusian companies (for instance, the Baranovichi Cotton Company).

Turkey is quite interested in the Belarusian flax make and an opportunity for the Turkish business to present in the Belarusian flax cultivation and processing. Turkish colleagues give great attention to the manufacture of woolen goods, and they are ready to partake in the upgrading of the Kamvol Company.

Apart from that, cooperation with Turkey in leather goods manufacturing (the country traditionally takes leading positions in it) looks very promising.

Another important issue on the agenda of the presidential visit to Turkey was cooperation in the transport industry. Over the last two years Belarus has been working hard on the Viking project with Lithuania and Ukraine. It is an international container train which transports freight from the Baltic to the Black Sea. The Turkish side expressed interest in joining the project where the Turkish potential could bring the Viking train to the markets of Middle East and North Africa.

The working visit of Belarusian head of state Alexander Lukashenko to Turkey and his meetings with the President and the Premier of that country bring the bilateral relations onto a more serious and promising platform. The negotiations in Istanbul covered the whole range of bilateral relations including economic ties and cooperation within the international and regional organizations. The leaders of the two countries agreed that the President and the Prime Minister of Turkey would soon visit Belarus.