BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

5/4/2005 12:04

Developing ties with China diplomatic priority: Belarusian FM

Promoting relations with China is one of Belarus' diplomatic priorities, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov said Monday.

A degree of political trust between Belarus and China and wide-ranging consensus on major international issues have formed the basis for developing constructive friendly ties between the two countries, Martynov told Xinhua in an interview.

Since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, marked progress has been made in bilateral cooperation in politics, economy, trade, science, culture and education, the minister said.

Two-way trade reached nearly 460 million US dollars in 2004, doubling the figure of 2003, he said.

Belarus and China share identical or similar positions on many major international issues such as Iraq, Martynov said. He also thanked China for its support at the UN human rights conference last month.

Belarus is one of the few former Soviet Union republics which maintain political and social stability and are free from ethnic and religious conflicts or territorial disputes, he said, adding that the country's economy has also witnessed a sustained growth.

On relations with Russia, he said their relationship is one of the strategic partnership, with building a confederation as the key part of bilateral cooperation. But the integration process must be expanding on an equal footing without impairing each other's national sovereignty and independence.

He also said Belarus is willing to develop friendly relations with all countries including the United States and the European Union (EU) on the basis of equality and mutual respect.

The Untied States is Belarus' largest investor, while the EU isone of its main trade partners, he said.

Source:

http://english.eastday.com/eastday/englishedition/world/userobject1ai990243.html