Rais of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov meets President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko

On 13 April, speaking at his meeting with the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan  Rustam Minnikhanov, who came on a working visit to Minsk, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that he is always very pleased to meet a delegation from Tatarstan.

“I am happy to welcome you, Rustam (Nurgaliyevich) and Tatarstan which is close to us. We have known each other for many years. Belarus actively works with Tatarstan enterprises. I want to thank you for the warm welcome you gave our team during the Friendship Games held in Kazan,” he said. 

Belarus President said that he was sure that such active work of the relegation from the republic will surely give an impetus for increasing the trade turnover as he thinks it can double and reach up to 2m dollars. 

In addition, Alexander Lukashenko separately mentioned that Belarus is ready to cooperate in procurement of parts for TU-214 production. 

In his turn, Rustam Minnikhanov thanked Alexander Lukashenko for the attention given to the delegation from Tatarstan. “I highly appreciate support from you and Russian President Vladimir Putin given to cooperation at the regional level. This month we celebrate the Day of Solidarity of peoples of Belarus and Russia. Please, accept my sincere congratulations,” he said. 

He informed that there is an agreement on cooperation between the two republics and a number of agreements between their ministries, there is a working group and the Subsidiary of the Belarus Embassy to Russia in Kazan. Moreover, Kazan and Minks are twin-cities, he said. 

“Under western sanctions we should be more active in strengthening and developing cooperation ties in economy. Today’s trade turnover is 1m dollars and the task is to increase it up to 2m. We hope that the visit of Tatarstan delegation will give a new impetus to our business cooperation,”Rustam Minnikhanov said. 

He also told about Days of Belarus Culture held in Kazan last year and the Days of Tatarstan Culture to be held in Minsk in the current year and expressed his gratitude to Alexander Lukashenko for the attention given to the support of the Tatar Community. 

On the top of all Rustam Minnikhanov informed about the coming forum “Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum” and invited a delegation from Belarus to attend it.