Monday, May 27 2024 12:00

ArmInfo. In recent years, Belarus has increased trade turnover with Armenia more than fourfold,   Ambassador of Belarus to Armenia Alexander Konyuk told ArmInfo on the sidelines of an event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armavir border detachment.

Thus, touching on the current level of relations between Yerevan and  Minsk and the issues existing between the countries, the ambassador  admitted that no relationship is without problems.

"But today, I see my role as the Ambassador of Belarus to Armenia in  the development of Armenian- Belarusian economic relations. If you  look at the trends of recent years, the trade turnover between  Belarus and Armenia has increased more than four times in recent  years. Economics is the most important thing and development trade  and economic relations are the most important," Konyuk emphasized.

In this vein, the ambassador recalled the slogan of Belarusian  President Alexander Lukashenko that the driving force behind  everything is the economy. "Our president always says that if there  is an economy, industry develops in the country, then political  problems will be much easier to solve. Therefore, I believe that my  task here as a diplomat is to develop our economic relations," the  ambassador once again emphasized Belarus.

To clarify which niches are more attractive for Belarusian companies  in Armenia, Konyuk noted that Belarus is trying to saturate the  Armenian market with its highly environmentally friendly products,  but logistics play an important role here, which is quite difficult.

"Moreover, last year we opened a joint production in Armenia with  Mogilevliftmash OJSC. Joint production of elevators is now carried  out in Vanadzor and Yerevan. Some of the parts are already being  produced locally, most of them are still being imported from Belarus,  but there is already localization. We We have created two production  facilities in two cities, which means competence and jobs - this is  very important," the ambassador added.

At the same time, Konyuk believes that industry needs to be developed  in Armenia based on the rich experience that Belarus already has.

According to the RA Statistical Committee, foreign trade turnover  between Armenia and Belarus in 2023 decreased by 2.8%, amounting to  $181.6 million. In particular, a decline was recorded in imports - by  18.4%, while exports grew by 19.5%, the volume of which amounted to  $89.7 million and $91.9 million, respectively. As a comparison, we  note that in 2022, a sharp increase in exports of 2.7 times was  recorded in this direction, with imports growing by 91.1%, as a  result of which foreign trade turnover between Armenia and Belarus  increased by 2.2 times.