Belarus, China intend to hold interregional forums every year

Belarus and China plan to hold one or two interregional forums annually, Belarus’ First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov said during a meeting with Vice Governor of China’s Gansu Province Wang Bing, BelTA has learned. “Gansu Province and its people hold a special place in Belarus-China relations. We view your visit as a continuation of our deep friendship, mutual support and assistance. We hope for a breakthrough in relations and a brand new level of cooperation with Grodno Oblast. The sincere friendship and mutual understanding between our leaders, Aleksandr Lukashenko and Xi Jinping, is a powerful foundation for the development of our relations. The president of our country always emphasizes the importance, necessity, and timeliness of raising our economic relations to the same level as our political and human relations. Our leaders personally oversee interregional ties and have repeatedly stressed their special significance,” Nikolai Snopkov said. On 12 May, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko signed the directive “On practical content of the all-weather and all-round strategic partnership between the Republic of Belarus and the People’s Republic of China”. “This document is internal: it is a desk manual for our officials to achieve the set goals of cooperation with China in investment, trade and economic areas. Interregional cooperation occupies a special place in the directive. In this five-year period, we are introducing the principle of applied cooperation and holding applied interregional forums. The Gansu-Grodno Oblast interregional forum will be the first and, I hope, exemplary,” the first deputy prime minister noted. “We will actively and substantively work on interregional forums between Chinese provinces and Belarusian regions. Each year we will hold one or two forums. Their purpose is to sign concrete investment contracts to facilitate the active entry of Chinese enterprises into Belarus and the implementation of industrial development projects. This is the main task assigned to me by the president of our country,” Nikolai Snopkov emphasized. Wang Bing noted that this was his first visit to Belarus, but as soon as he stepped off the plane, he felt right at home. "China and Belarus are true friends and partners who trust each other. The all-weather and all-round strategic partnership between us is developing at a high level. Political mutual trust is being strengthened, practical cooperation is developing, and all this serves as an example of equal and mutually beneficial relations between states. Thanks to your attention and support, cooperation between Gansu Province and Belarus has been comprehensively developed and has brought fruitful results in various areas. Trade and economic cooperation demonstrates steady and strong momentum," he emphasized. Scientific and technical cooperation is also developing.