ArmInfo. RA Minister of Economic Development and Trade Artsvik Minasyan received today the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Armenia Igor Nazaruk. The sides discussed issues of economic cooperation between the countries.
As the press service of the ministry told ArmInfo, the minister attached great importance to the Armenian- Belarusian trade and economic relations, thanked him for the "Armenian-Belarusian Friendship Park", established in the Sevan National Park, where several thousand pine trees were brought from Belarus. Artsvik Minasyan also noted the existence of a huge mutual economic potential, the implementation of which can significantly improve the level of trade, economic and business ties between countries.
The Ambassador expressed gratitude for the meeting, touched upon a number of issues that are capable of intensifying business relations between Armenia and Belarus. During the meeting, options were discussed for launching a number of business projects, including encouraging investment in the light industry, and improving infrastructure quality. The importance of cooperation in the field of standardization, exchange of experience was noted. The need to create Armenian-Belarusian business associations, which would intensify business contacts between the countries, was mentioned.
The interlocutors also touched upon the agenda of the next meeting of the Armenian-Belarusian intergovernmental commission. The parties agreed on further working meetings and reaffirmed their readiness to expand cooperation.
According to official statistics, for the first half of the year 2018 the foreign trade turnover between Armenia and Belarus totaled $ 23.7 million with an annual growth of 24%. The export of Armenian goods to Balaruss increased by 50.9%, amounting to 4.8 million, while the import of Belarusian goods increased by 18.6% to $ 18.9 million.