S Jaishankar holds bilateral talks with Foreign Minister of Belarus, Vladimir Makei

Tags: International Relations International News

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar held bilateral talks with his Belarus counterpart Vladimir Makei in New Delhi on 9 November, 2022.

Important facts

• The Foreign Minister of Belarus, Vladimir Makei arrives in New Delhi on November 9, 2022 for a two-day visit to India.

• Both leaders held talks on a range of issues including bilateral economic ties, Ukraine conflict and multilateral cooperation.

India - Belarus Relations

• India’s relations with Belarus have been traditionally warm and cordial.

• India was one of the first countries to recognize Belarus as an independent country in 1991.

• After formal diplomatic relations were established, the Indian diplomatic mission was opened in Minsk in 1992 and Belarus opened its mission in New Delhi in 1998.

• Cooperation between the two countries is reflected in several multilateral fora such as the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

• Belarus helped consolidate India's candidature for a temporary seat at the UNSC in July 2020.

• India has supported Belarus in various international fora such as membership of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and other international and multilateral groups such as the IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union).

• The two countries have established mechanisms for the exchange of views on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues through the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC), and the Joint Commission on Military Technical Cooperation.

• The two countries signed several MoUs on various subjects including defence and technical cooperation, trade and economic cooperation, culture, education, media and sports, tourism, science and technology, agriculture, textiles, avoidance of double taxation, promotion of investment.

• In the economic sphere, the annual bilateral trade turnover in 2019 is USD 569.6 million.

About Belarus

• President - Alexander Lukashenko 

• Prime Minister - Roman Golovchenko

• Capital - Minsk

• Currency - Belarusian ruble