Alexander Lukashenko meets with Speaker of Lok Sabha of Indian Parliament to discuss further economic cooperation

By Natalia Breus: The President of Belarus met with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha – the Lower Chamber of the Indian Parliament – Sumitra Mahajan. Such meetings are an opportunity to once again look at all the areas of the Belarusian-Indian cooperation and discuss the portfolio of joint projects.

A parliamentary delegation of India is paying an official visit to Belarus these days. Minsk and New Delhi have no contradictions on the international agenda, and political contacts should be the basis for promoting trade. Ahead of the talks in the National Assembly, the delegation visited the Hi-Tech Park Belarus.

Earlier, the countries had agreed to localize a number of Belarusian industrial enterprises in India. Among them are Gomelmash, MTZ, and MAZ. Training centres for technical specialists will also be set up in the South Asian region.

Also, India is famous for its pharmaceuticals industry. This year, Belarus is launching a joint production of medicines for the treatment of various cancers, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. Indian technologies and experience will make it possible to make medicines as efficient as possible, but most important – they will be very affordable and will become a perfect alternative to expensive imported drugs. In Belarus, there are at least three such enterprises with Indian capital.

In general, the dynamics of the trade relations between Belarus and India is improving by the year. Last year, the commodity turnover of the countries reached 0.5 billion dollars. Belarus exports to India potash fertilizers.

Belarus is also ready to participate in the state programmes of India aimed at supporting national production – for example, the development of infrastructure and mining.

Also, Belarus and India are ready to set up a logistics centre and an industrial cluster near the town of Orsha. The project will be similar to the Great Stone Industrial Park. For future projects, the park is ready to use the funds of a special Indian loan fund. In its turn, Belarus is ready to provide a preferential tax regime for the park’s residents. A draft decree on granting tax preferences is being prepared now.