BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

05/06/2009

Israel: Joint press conference with FM Liberman and Belarus FM Martynov

Israeli investors are currently implementing a very large project for the construction of a Belarus version of the Silicon Valley, involving investments estimated at half a billion US dollars.

Press Conference with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Serghei Martynov

FM Martynov: Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Avigdor Liberman, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel is visiting Belarus today. We have held discussions here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs has just met with the President of Belarus.

I would like to note that the two countries share an important asset, which lies at the foundation of our relations: These are our compatriots, many of whom live in Israel. They do not lose touch with their homeland, and their homeland does not lose touch with them. It is our goal as foreign ministers and as government members to transform these human contacts into contacts of a far more practical nature and into economic cooperation, which unfortunately is not yet of a very broad scope.

As part of our discussions today, we have agreed on certain directions, which could serve as the basis of broader economic cooperation between us. These include areas of agriculture, manufacture and marketing of food products for the international market, tourism both to Belarus and Israel, high technology - in which both Israel and in Belarus have considerable resources - as well as the possibility of Israeli commercial involvement in large-scale projects carried out in Belarus, such as the energy development program.

We have also reached agreement on the expansion of general cooperation between our two governments. The Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation will be established, which while already existing on paper, will now be made fully-functional. We have scheduled a session of the Commission for this coming fall and the Israeli side has appointed its Co-Chair for this Commission.

Moreover, we have agreed on the need to promote inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two sides, and we have established a corresponding Friendship Group in the Parliament. We are working to ensure that today's agreements will be realized in practice.

Thank you.

FM Liberman: First of all, once again, I would like to express hope that the agreement on cultural cooperation reached today will also help in the further promotion of such positive human dialogue and contribute to world culture.

We should view the past and history as a reference point. It is this very Jewish-Belarusian cooperation, here on Belarusian land, that has given the world two of its greatest painters - Chagall and Soutine. It is difficult to imagine the world of art without these two names.

I have previously mentioned in the media that Belarus was one of the few countries that sent an enormous group of artists to Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations. They gave a brilliant gala concert at the Culture Hall, the largest concert hall in Tel Aviv, and their performance was attended by thousands of people. On July 10, the Slavonic Bazaar will open, and Israel will be sending a delegation comprising of more than 100 people, led by the Minister of Tourism. So indeed, these relations are backed by real substance.

Cultural relations are developing very well and there are many writers, delegation exchanges, artists. People who are generally familiar with the cultures of Belarus and Israel are familiar with both these worlds.

The coming years should be dedicated to developing an economic breakthrough. Trade turnover is unfortunately fairly low, and we are currently discussing possible options to take our relations to a new level.

Our political relations have been very smooth and stable for many years, and we are hopeful that these warm relations will continue in the future.

I hope to see my colleague in Israel in the fall. Until then, we will continue our dialogue and exchange of views. We will follow through with scheduled activities, so that everything moves forward and doesn't just stay on paper. Thank you.

Question: Mr. Minister, how will the relations between our countries develop in future? Are you possibly planning a summit?

FM Liberman: There will come a time for a summit as well, especially as our president is also a native of Belarus. He has been here and he loves coming here. I hope to meet with him in the immediate future. We will discuss the question of bilateral relations and possibly the issue of high-level relations as well.

It can be said that our current level of contact is intense. We held discussions about a month ago when the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Belarus visited Israel. Now it is my turn to be standing here, and our Minister of Tourism will be here in July. So we are already seeing some momentum which, of course, will be further developed.

Question: Was the issue of Belarusian-Iranian cooperation discussed at all? Did Belarus suggest anything to Israel?

FM Liberman: Of course we touched on this particular topic. It is no secret that for us this is a very delicate issue for two reasons. First of all, this is a sensitive question from a moral point of view. We believe that any attempt to rewrite history is completely unacceptable, especially when it comes to the history of World War II, including, of course, a complete denial of the Holocaust. We are unable to tolerate the fact that the head of a sovereign state, which is a member of the United Nations, organizes an annual conference in Tehran specifically on Holocaust denial. Regarding the speech he delivered in Bern, Switzerland, once again, his words conveyed Holocaust denial and Iran's threats to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Therefore, we are trying to make people understand that this approach does not benefit the international community in any way.

Unfortunately, most European countries maintain diplomatic relations with Iran. I do not want to hide that a meeting between the President of France and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iran, for example, is extremely unpleasant for us. It seems to me that people should realize that in today's globalized world it is impossible to treat this problem with a great degree of tolerance.

Iran is a definite threat to the stability of the Middle East. All terrorists and militants operating in our region were trained in Iran, using Iranian weapons, and funded by Iranian money. We consistently explain our point of view on this topic in all countries and at all levels. It is my hope that we will achieve mutual understanding on this issue as well.

Question: Would you be able to name the specific items that were included in the agreement reached on educational, scientific, and cultural cooperation? In particular, what exactly does this mean for our fellow countrymen?

FM Martynov: Once we conclude our press conference, you can direct this question at those who actually signed the agreement.

Question: Today, it was correctly stated that we are cooperating in various fields, lagging behind only with respect to trade and economic relations. In connection with this issue, in which commodities can we and should we strengthen our relations and expand trade turnover?

FM Martynov: We have identified the following commodities: first and foremost agricultural production and high technology. We expect that these areas present particularly strong opportunities for advancement. At the same time, we are not excluding other spheres of activity. Everything will depend on entrepreneurs and companies both in Belarus and in Israel.

FM Liberman: Israeli investors are currently implementing a very large project for the construction of a Belarus version of the Silicon Valley, involving investments estimated at half a billion US dollars. We hope that this project, the first of its kind, will serve as a flagship, helping other investors come here to Belarus and realize the potential of our two states. Thank you.

Source:

http://www.isria.com/pages/5_June_2009_82.htm

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