On the principles of finding partners on the long arc and Lukashenko's major mission. Interview with the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Alexander Lukashenko during the talks in an expanded format with the Acting President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Chairman of the National Security and Peace Commission Min Aung Hlaing Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting with the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tarek Al Said Alexander Lukashenko during the talks in an expanded format with the Acting President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Chairman of the National Security and Peace Commission Min Aung Hlaing Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting with the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tarek Al Said Alexander Lukashenko during the talks in an expanded format with the Acting President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Chairman of the National Security and Peace Commission Min Aung Hlaing

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Since November 26, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been on an extensive foreign mission. His first stop was Kyrgyzstan, where he participated in the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit and held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

His schedule then included a series of visits to distant countries, including an official visit to Myanmar (Southeast Asia) and a high-level meeting during a working visit to Oman (Middle East ). He will then make another official visit to Algeria (North Africa). Afterward, Alexander Lukashenko will continue his work schedule and hold a series of meetings, including a final one with the Sultan of Oman.

In an interview with journalists, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov summarized the preliminary results of the Belarusian leader's extensive mission and outlined the criteria and principles by which Belarus develops cooperation with partners in distant regions.

On the CSTO summit in Bishkek and strengthening collective security.
In fact, peace and security are at the forefront of the development of any state or region today. One only needs to look at the regional agenda and global processes to see that these are the most valuable assets today. Therefore, it is certainly invaluable to meet with our allies from time to time at such a significant summit (the Collective Security Council), to synchronize our schedules
, and determine the main directions for our organization's development. In the lead-up to the CSTO summit, the President met with Vladimir Putin, during which they discussed a wide range of issues concerning our relations and our joint response to the challenges and threats emerging near our borders.
Naturally, the continuation took place at a meeting of the Collective Security Council, where we, together with our allies, discussed in a broader circle the issues of our organization’s progress.The President has very timely put forward many initiatives, including those related to developing our response to the trend of the ever-expanding use of artificial intelligence. Our response must be such that this phenomenon should not be exploited by the countries of the collective West or by a number of countries that, perhaps due to certain circumstances, have more financially advanced to advance their own interests, holding back the development of all other countries. Therefore, we must consider how to respond to this. How to respond to the increased use of artificial intelligence in new modern weapons systems and technologies. Because we see today what is happening in Ukraine and the progress this direction has already made. And we need to provide an adequate joint response to such developments.
Issues of terrorism (countering related challenges – BELTA note), issues of strengthening our tools for cooperation and political and diplomatic measures.
This is especially true given what's happening on the CSTO's western flank—on the border with the EU countries, which, as you can see, are actually blaming us for something. In fact, our western neighbors are doing everything they can to exploit the border and all border issues to exert hybrid influence on the Republic of Belarus and Russia. But in reality, we've already said a lot ( EU neighboring countries are acting in this vein—BelTA note) only to receive the next tranche of EU aid. As we see, corruption scandals are erupting in the EU every week—former heads of the external action service, current ones, and so on. There are corruption scandals in Ukraine. This only goes to show why they're doing all this. This is what concerns the CSTO.

Regarding the principles of finding partners on the distant front:
I want to say that finding countries with whom it would be desirable to build relations is a very complex matter. Because in addition to our desire, we must understand the desire of our partners. That's one .

Second , we must understand that they have something interesting for us, and we have something interesting for them, so that cooperation is mutually beneficial, mutually respectful, and brings positive results for both countries. And not just for us, if we want something. After all, the President's main postulate when organizing such visits is that we must perceive our partners as our true friends and as very kindred spirits. That is, we should not go there as some colonialist or neocolonialist countries have done and continue to do, which continue to extract resources with a large excavator, selling some of their goods at a high price. And ordinary people do not see any positive effect for themselves from developing a commonwealth with this or that state.

So our President always says that the peoples of both countries must understand the importance of cooperation, seeReal results for improving people's well-being, developing the country, enhancing security and stability. And it would be better if we created some kind of joint product that would then be sold and, on the one hand, create jobs for citizens of both countries. On the other hand, it would also provide the opportunity to earn money on this joint product somewhere abroad. That's how we approach everything.
Therefore, we don't simply trade. We advance our technologies, we train local workers and engineers in certain technologies. This is to increase the localization of our production, so that this truly contributes to the economic development of the partner country and facilitates their development.

Naturally, in this case, we choose countries that are close to us in spirit, with whom we see the world through the same eyes. With whom we currently have very good cooperation on the international stage, within various multilateral organizations, where we defend the same values ​​​​at various international forums. First and foremost, these are the values ​​​​that underpin the entire work of the United Nations. This means sovereign respect for each other, non-interference in each other's affairs, consideration of each other's interests, and a partnership. This means implementing all agreements in accordance with international law, non-use of force or threat of force, and non-imposition of unilateral sanctions.
These are the principles by which we select such states. And if we've already determined our immediate environment—who our enemies are, who our friends are—then, of course, the search for what the President is talking about in the longer term is very difficult work. Because these countries are usually unfamiliar to us, or, like Algeria, long forgotten. As the President noted, during the Soviet Union, we were very serious partners. Belarus, as part of the Soviet Union, also supported Algeria with our specialists, who participated in the economic development of that state, which, let me remind you, only threw off the yoke of French colonialism in 1962.
Therefore, what we are doing today is returning to what existed long before our state emerged as a sovereign state. But we remember that cooperation, and today we are simply trying to build on it.

Regarding Myanmar—the state of the future
—Myanmar—the President has stated this very clearly—is the state of the future. In fact, this is a state that possesses significant human resources, significant resources located deep within its borders (it has everything), and which is currently making every effort to consolidate its society internally. It is truly capable of becoming very developed in the future if all these elements come together.
The first thing the President advised the country's leader, Min Aung Hlaing, was to build a systemic effort to consolidate society so that this consolidation would enable the country to develop peacefully and provide a worthy political response. An internal response to all the external challenges and threats this state faces. Because it is rich, and everyone wants to get in there, everyone wants to lay their hands on its wealth.
The first is the consolidation of society. The second is the development of technology. The President said we will help with this. This includes the mechanization of agriculture, the assembly of equipment, and addressing issues—which is also a priority—food security.
And finally, expanding opportunities for contacts between people and businesses. That is why a number of agreements signed during the visit (around three dozen) are aimed precisely at implementing closer cooperation in each of the areas I mentioned.
In my view, the key ones are those that build trade and economic cooperation. This includes investment protection, avoiding double taxation, and more robust cooperation between relevant ministries and agencies—industry, agriculture , education, and so on. Naturally, there's a roadmap, which is designed to formulate concrete steps for the future, along which we will move with our Myanmar colleagues to implement all the agreements reached by the presidents.
And, of course, the agreement on visa-free travel for citizens. I would say that with this, we are already practically getting closer to making the entire Southeast Asian region visa-free for our citizens. This is also a step in that direction.
They don't want to see us in the West. In Greece, Spain, Italy, Germany. Today, it's much easier and more interesting for our citizens to fly to Southeast Asia, to discover both good beaches and a good, very interesting infrastructure with roots dating back thousands of years. Back when Europe (we're talking about modern countries - BelTA) didn't even exist on the world map. The Europe we admire so much.
And getting there (to the countries of Southeast Asia - BelTA) today by plane takes seven, eight, nine, eleven hours... And to get to Europe, we see how long it takes from the border. It takes 24 hours to get to Switzerland.
That's why Myanmar is of particular interest.

Regarding the emphasis on investment in cooperation with Oman,
meetings between the leaders of our countries have become almost regular. That is, there is already a dialogue between them. It's already a good, strong friendship at the leadership level.
Both the Sultan of Oman and our President understand each other well and value the spirit that exists between our countries. Again, this spirit is mutually respectful, taking each other's interests into account. And all our projects with this country are also mutually beneficial.

But while in other countries we focus on projects that create foundations for economic development in these countries or develop specific sectors of the national economy, in Oman the situation is somewhat different. This involves using Omani funds to implement projects in Belarus, Oman, and third countries.
For them, this is an opportunity to earn a little money and reinvest these funds in the future, with the aim of generating a good profit.

For us, this is an opportunity to sell and further distribute (products – BELTA note), leveraging Oman's capabilities, which have been developed over millennia in East Africa and the Asian region. Sell our products, do some joint work with them in Oman, and then sell them jointly.
Furthermore, from an investment perspective, we believe the project to build a pulp mill in Belarus is a very good and important one, and it will be implemented in accordance with the agreement reached by the leaders. This represents an investment of approximately $1 billion. Not only we, but also our Omani colleagues, believe it is very promising in terms of payback and the potential for significant profits.

There are also a number of specific initiatives to develop the tourism industry, including the creation of our own facilities (in Oman – BELTA), and to increase the number of our citizens traveling to Oman and from Oman to Belarus. You know, we also signed an agreement on visa-free travel with this country.
I believe the prospects are much greater. Even at the meeting between the President of Belarus and the President of Algeria, the heads of state expressed their desire to utilize Oman's potential in trilateral trade. In other words, a bridge is already being built from Oman to Algeria. And that's very good.

As the President said, the complex fertilizer production project is being financially supported by Oman. The availability of phosphates and nitrogen fertilizers in Algeria and potash fertilizers in Belarus makes it not just mutually beneficial, but also guaranteed to be profitable and will find a buyer. Because there are now three countries, each with its own circle of partners. This means that the implementation of this project is guaranteed to be much larger. The cumulative effect will be much greater.

Regarding the implementation of specific ideas with Algeria:
Building on our approaches in global politics, we can establish ourselves as reliable partners in the implementation of specific ideas with Algeria. Algeria is a promising developing country with high results and growth rates on the African continent as a whole. It is a country with some of the world's largest oil and gas deposits. It is a country that truly believes its internal development is the key to its independence and self-sufficiency.
At the same time, we can be useful to them in certain areas. For example, while they already produce some tractors, we have the high-powered tractors they need to implement their plans for the green development of these desert lands, and we're ready to produce them.We have all of that, including buses for municipal services, which they're also planning to significantly upgrade.
Food security is also a concern. They're self-sufficient in a wide range of foodstuffs. But milk and meat remain a pressing issue for them. And we can help here, too. And not just by selling large bags of powdered milk, whey, or baby food. We could create facilities here that would produce something from powdered milk, package baby food , or develop some new product with fruit and other additives. So that all of this would go straight to stores and be available to the local population.
And also so that the jointly developed product could further expand to the African countries that border Algeria today. They have a seven-thousand-kilometer border with African countries. These are, of course, huge markets. And, of course, we can supply there too.