India And Belarus Sign Ten MOU’s, Expand Ties In Defense Sector
Belarus President A G Lukashenko who arrived in India last night held extensive talks with Indian leaders this morning. After meeting PM Modi, India and Belarus signed 10 MOU’s aimed at expanding bilateral ties and exploring joint development and manufacture of military platforms. The interaction between the two leaders has now led to the ramping up of bilateral engagement in various areas, including defence, trade and investment.
It was highly anticipated that defence cooperation will be the highlight of the discussion during the visit.
Belarus and India have already determined the philosophy of relations, now it is essential to develop the practical dimension, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu as per reports from the Belarus Media.
“Today we should use the language of well-prepared contracts rather than discuss the avenues of the economic development. We have already determined these avenues and the philosophy of our relations. Now we should develop the practical dimension which relies on contracts and investments,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on the president of Belarus before his talks with Modi.
“I think that there are great prospects for expanding cooperation in the trade and economic fields.
We are also looking at developing healthcare industry and medical tourism,” VP Venkiah Naidu said.
His visit takes place at a time when Belarus and India are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
India’s relations with Belarus have been traditionally warm and cordial. India was one of the first countries to recognize Belarus as an independent country in 1991.
Both countries have exchanged high-level visits at regular intervals. Hon'ble President's State Visit in June 2015 to Minsk, the first presidential visit from India to Belarus, has further enhanced the existing bilateral relations. During the visit, 6 official MoUs for cooperation in areas such as broadcasting, standardization, textiles, and financial securities were signed and a Roadmap for future cooperation was exchanged. Hon'ble President of Belarus visited India in 1997 and 2007.
Two-way bilateral trade in 2016 amounted to US$ 402 million. The trade balance remains in favour of Belarus primarily on account of import of Potash. Indian PSU, BHEL, was awarded a contract worth US$ 55.5 million under GoI's credit line for the Grodno Power Project-II. The project was completed in 2013 and is running well.
Cooperation in science and technology and defence is an important aspect of India-Belarus bilateral relations.
