News.Az interviews Nikolai Patskevich, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Belarus in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will pay an official visit to Belarus on November 12. Do you expect to sign any documents on the development of bilateral relations? If yes, what will be the main fields of cooperation?
Well, we expect to sign 5 or 6 documents on cooperation in different spheres. We expect that by results of the bilateral meeting Belarus and Azerbaijani Presidents Alexander Lukashenko and Ilham Aliyev will sign a declaration of two presidents as well as documents on intergovernmental and interindustry documents. A document in the sphere of regional cooperation will also be signed. Wide range of issues will be discussed.
Today the agenda includes boosting bilateral ties, primarily economic ones. All political issues are coordinated and our positions coincide on most international issues. Therefore, we should strengthen the trade and economic ties and ties between our peoples on this basis. All these issues will be discussed.
How can you assess the volumes of trade and economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Belarus?
It is currently growing despite crisis. It shows that our economies are supplementing each other and mutual commodity turnover is also growing amid crisis. As for the scales of cooperation, certainly, we should work much and we will discuss this as well.
The volumes of bilateral trade turnover made 117.7 mln dollars by results of 2008, nevertheless, these figures do not meet our potential and possibilities. Therefore, the presidents will discuss ways of bringing them to compliance and boosting them.
Which new spheres of cooperation can be touched upon during the official visit of our president to Belarus?
No new spheres can be listed as we already have cooperation in all directions. We will boost it in all spheres. We have all grounds to raise the commodity turnover, we do not only develop existing commercial ties but also start to create joint ventures. The mechanical engineering plant in Ganja is producing Belarus tractors and MAZ trucks. Today Minsk and Baku are discussing possible creation of a joint plant to produce specialized technique, agricultural engines, construction technique and lists.
Leyla
News.Az