BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

06/04/2008

Belorussian President's visit to foster ties with Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge - Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko said he believes that his visit to Vietnam would help foster political, economic, cultural and humanity cooperation between Belarus and the Southeast Asian country.

The president made the statement in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency special envoy in Minsk on April 4 before his upcoming visit, which will take place on April 7-8. The following is the full text of the interview:

Mr. President, under your leadership, Belarus has over recent years enjoyed a dynamic and stable development and made great achievements in all areas. Could you please make a sketch of the contemporary Belarus?

The focal point in Belorrusian policies is taking care of people and from this angle, we have made various great achievements.

First of all, we have not let poverty occur, having maintained the Government's social care measures. We have decided to build a social-oriented market economy, with people playing the key role and their welfare being the major standard to evaluate the development of the economy.

During the 1990s, we did not follow the theories on new-styled liberal economic reform which were very popular at that time. More specifically, we did not allow mass privatisation of the economy and so we maintained production capacity and prevented the collapse of big enterprises in the industrial and agricultural sectors.

It was a period of difficulties because Belarus has no abundant natural resources, particularly oil and gas. At that time, almost all economic ties with former Soviet Union countries were broken: One important thing is that we did not reject the positive experiences of the Soviet Union time, when various great accomplishments were made, especially in the social area. The Soviet Union regime has left us big production facilities such as a fertiliser plant in Solegorsk, which is currently exporting its products to Vietnam . We was the first country in the Commonwealth of Independent States to overcome the aftermaths of the crisis triggered by the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Belarus' high GDP growth rates over recent years were not accidental but the result of a carefully-considered policy and the efficient operation of the whole economy. Belarus ' industrial sector is highly developed, turning out 30 percent of the world's heavy trucks and 6 percent of the world's tractors. We have built up an efficient social welfare system and curbed the unemployment rate at below 2 percent.

How do you assess the friendship and cooperation between Belarus and Vietnam?

I highly appreciate the Belarus-Vietnam friendship and consider it the precious value that has helped create a firm foundation for the two countries' relationships for decades.

Belarus is a reliable and promising partner of the Vietnamese people. Our cooperation has been built up since the 1960s. At present, we should unceasingly strengthen the cooperation for the benefit of the two peoples. This will help both countries to make new achievements in protecting their own benefits in a dynamic world.

Our diplomatic representative agencies are operating efficiently in Minsk and Hanoi and friendship associations of the two countries are closely coordinating with each other.

Many Belorussian expatriates have spent years working in Vietnam and assisted the Vietnamese people during their struggle against foreign invaders.

Belarus and Vietnam have made a number of achievements in their cooperation in building industrial and energy works and in training human resources. More than 3,000 Vietnamese experts have undergone training in Belarus .

We take the view that the main result of past years, including the 15-year period after the two countries established diplomatic ties is that in the context of a complicated world situation, we have maintained and developed the friendship and close cooperation with each other on the basis of mutual trust, assistance and respect.

To what extend have political relations and the co-ordination in activities between the two countries developed, Mr. President?

It was a close relationship and a constructive coordination. As said by diplomats, the relations between Belarus and Vietnam have reached the level of political dialogue and high confidence.

Parliamentary cooperation has rapidly progressed. Recently, the two countries have developed a new and promising way of boosting bilateral ties that is cooperation between localities. Between 2004 and 2006, the two sides signed agreements between Minsk and Hanoi and between Grodno and Danang. The two sides have increased visits during which various specific cooperation programmes have been signed. Concrete contents are the best thing about the cooperation at this level.

On the international arena, for instance the framework of the United Nations, the coordination of actions between Belarus and Vietnam was fruitful and beneficial to the two countries' interest.

The two countries have similar stances on major international issues, including building an equal world order based on the principle of strengthening the multi-polar world and respecting recognised international legal standards.

Our countries have shared viewpoints on resolutions to the hot-spots in the Middle East and Africa . Belarus and Vietnam advocate an increased role of the United Nations in handling economic and humanity problems.

We welcome Vietnam 's non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council. We believe that with the non-permanent seat in the council, Vietnam will help promote the benefit of the Non-Aligned Movement and assist the council to better perform its function of ensuring international peace and security. Belarus and Vietnam also work closely in the UN reform issue.

Our countries also share similar viewpoints on the human rights issue and together fight against the 'double standards' that several countries impose on the issue.

I believe that Belarus and Vietnam will conduct more coordinated actions to fight some nations' schemes to put political and economic pressure on countries that pursue independent internal and external policies.

According to you, what should the governments, ministries, agencies and businesses of the two countries do to increase the efficiency of trade-economic cooperation to make it on par with political ties and match the two countries' potentials?

Last year, two-way trade between Belarus and Vietnam was reported at over 60 million USD, with Belarus' export to Vietnam being at 48 million USD. The figure showed some growth but further efforts should be made because the achieved results have not matched our economic potentials.

In my opinion, it is necessary to facilitate business operation in the Belorussian and Vietnamese markets. To this end, it is necessary to perfect legal systems and improve relations between ministries and companies. Businesses themselves must participate more actively in this process and build their direct ties with one another.

At present, our two countries have foundations to foster cooperation on promising areas such as trade, machinery manufacturing, agriculture, and education and training.

Belarus is an industrial country with a highly-developed manufacturing industry, whose products have been imported by Vietnam to implement its industrialisation and modernisation programmes. Therefore, our two economies can complement each other in the current stage of development as well as in the future. Vietnam's active integration into the world economy will help boost cooperation for mutual benefits between our two countries.

What are your expectations for your second official visit to Vietnam?

It is almost 10 years since my previous visit to Vietnam. A lot of things have changed but one thing has remained the same that is Vietnam is still a friend of Belarus. We have made great efforts to develop bilateral relations. Of course, meetings between the two countries' leaders played a key role in the process.

In this visit, the two sides are scheduled to sign a series of documents. I hope that two-way trade will reach 100 million USD in the coming time, but it will not be the final target.

I hope that in the future, even though import-export is very important for both sides, the two sides will shift from the trading of goods to cooperative ties in production. Belarus has built machine assembly establishments in Vietnam and I hope that Vietnam will pay attention to construction of production establishments in Belarus.

Another important area is scientific and technical cooperation. We should together look for new appropriate forms of cooperation and measures to further promote this cooperation.

There is also prospect for cooperation in personnel training. Belarus is willing to receive many more Vietnamese students and ensure the training for them at the highest level.

During this visit, I plan to meet with the Vietnam-Belarus Friendship Association, representatives of those who graduated from Belorussian universities, and representatives of Vietnamese social organisations, such as youth and students. I think that they have been and will be the key elements to promote Vietnam-Belarus friendly ties and comprehensive cooperation for mutual benefits.

I believed that our visit will promote the comprehensive development of the two countries' relationship in politics, economics, culture and humanities. I really hope that the meetings in Vietnam will have concrete contents and create a strong momentum for the relationship between Belarus and Vietnam to further develop.

Source:

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/politics/2008/04/777066/

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