‘Pillar of stability and security’. Belarus seeks closer ties with Muslim world - Lukashenka


Belarus does not want to limit its international cooperation to relations with European countries and seeks to forge closer ties with the Muslim world, president Alyaksandr Lukashenka said on Thursday, speaking at the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul.

“The interest in the enhancement of the ties with the Islamic world is an absolutely conscious choice of Belarus. By implementing the multi-vector policy and being open to the external world, by not willing to be constrained in the narrow bounds of Eurocentrism at the end of 1990s we became the only full-fledged member of the Non-Aligned Movement among all European countries at that moment in time,” state-run news agency BelTA quotes Lukashenka  as saying.

In his opinion, the Islamic world can be one of the pillars of stability and security.

The Belarusian president also held talks with foreign leaders which took place on the sidelines of the summit.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar discussed various aspects of Belarus-Qatar cooperation, including the prospects of developing cooperation in the economy.

The meeting of the Belarusian leader and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev focused on the forthcoming top-level visits which will give an opportunity to thoroughly study topical issues emerging under the influence of the global economic crisis.

Furthermore, Lukashenka expressed readiness to take an active part in restoring Afghanistan‘s economy talking to the country’s Prime Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

Belarus also hopes to enhance trade and economic cooperation with Indonesia and raise the bilateral trade to more than $1 billion: the issue was on the agenda of the meeting between Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Indonesia Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Read also: Putin’s main ally wants Turkey’s money. Erdogan promises to visit Belarus

Belsat.eu, following BelTA

TWITTER