Lukashenko calls to take stock of Belarus-Venezuela relations

     It is time to take stock of the relations between Belarus and Venezuela and build even stronger cooperation,Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Venezuela president’s special envoy Adan Chavez Frias in Minsk on 7 October.“It's good that you came at this time. We have something to talk about, issues we need to discuss,” the President pointed out:

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I want to say that it is not about the sanctions against Venezuela and Belarus. We have a very serious, powerful framework of our cooperation created in the days of Hugo Chavez. Frankly, both Venezuela and Belarus are not making a great use of the advantages that were created many years ago.

      The countries do have something to rely on in order to counteract any attacks today. We are determined to act in this direction. I think it is time we took stock of our relationship and built an even stronger one.

    The President added that the countries needed to draw up a plan to boost our relationship and implement it in the next two to three years.

    Belarus and Venezuela plan to restart bilateral projects in construction and industry, Venezuela president’s special envoy Adan Chavez Frias told media in Minsk after the meeting. According to him, a Belarusian delegation is expected to travel to Venezuela by the end of the year. The main focus will be on trade and economic cooperation. The partied intend to take stock of the existing projects and map out new ones. Among the most significant bilateral projects Adan Chavez mentioned the industrial machine-building complex developed by Belarusian specialists in the state of Barinas. “Our main goal is to restart his industrial complex which produces tractors, trucks and road construction machinery,” the special envoy said.