Foreign minister discusses cooperation with India, Syria, Turkey

December 22, BPN. Belarusian Foreign Minister Siarhiej Alejnik has had talks with officials from India, Syria, and Turkey, the foreign ministry’s press office reported.

Ways to boost trade, economic and scientific ties dominated the agenda of his meeting with Alok Ranjan Jha, the Indian envoy in Minsk.

Alejnik also had a phone conversation with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad. The foreign ministers stressed the importance of mutual support in the international arena and expressed interest in expanding Belarusian-Syrian cooperation, the foreign ministry said.

Alejnik’s phone discussion with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu focused on “further mutually beneficial development of interstate relations,” according to the foreign ministry.

In 2021, trade between Belarus and Turkey amounted to $1.8 billion (with Belarusian exports at $360.5 million); between Belarus and India, to $566.6 million ($375.8 million); and between Belarus and Syria, to $8.2 million ($7.6 million).