Ambassador of Belarus to Việt Nam H.E. Mr. Vladimir Goshin wrote to Việt Nam News on a special holiday of Belarus.

3rd of July is a special holiday for the Republic of Belarus, on this day we celebrate the independence of our country.

We are proud and glad to say that over a little more than a quarter-century we have managed to create a strong state in the middle of Europe, provide national peace and security, develop our economy, cultural and social spheres.

Despite the aggravation of the international situation, Belarus remains a stable territory and actively contributes to the peacekeeping process.

Due to the geographical position of our country, which is a type of ‘bridge’ connecting European countries, Baltic ones and countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), primarily Russia, the foreign policy of Belarus aims to support friendly relations and comprehensive dialogue with countries of both the East and the West.

Việt Nam is, historically, one of Belarus’ key partners in South East Asia as well as a reliable comrade.

Fraternal relations between Belarusians and Vietnamese, formed in the times of the Soviet Union, have never been interrupted, and as a result of comprehensive and progressive development, have reached a qualitatively new level.

We have positive dynamics of contacts at the highest level. In 2015 H.E. Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus, paid a state visit to Việt Nam and exactly one year ago Belarus hosted H.E. Trần Đại Quang, President of the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam, on an official visit.

The development of political relations between Belarus and Việt Nam requires a solid economic basis.

The Free Trade Agreement between Việt Nam and the EAEU (signed in October 2016), and Intergovernmental Protocol on supporting the production of motor transport vehicles in the territory of Việt Nam are the most important documents which provide an impetus to bilateral trade and economic relations. And this is the trend we can already observe today.

At the final stage stands the industrial cooperation project to establish a joint assembly plant for production of the Belarusian flagship in the field of mechanical engineering – MAZ trucks. The production of dairy products is already on the list, as well as the manufacture of small tractors, medical equipment and a number of other goods.

The Belarus-Việt Nam Intergovernmental commission for trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation is a unique platform for discussing beneficial areas of bilateral cooperation. Fourteen meetings of the commission have been held already and the last one recently took place in Minsk, the capital of our country, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus and the Minister of Industry and Trade of Việt Nam.

Today we openly declare that Belarus considers Việt Nam a gateway for the joint promotion of Belarusian machinery products and other goods assembled in Việt Nam to the ASEAN market.

It’s well known that the economy cannot develop without warm and friendly relations between countries. And on this issue we are not lagging behind. Proof of this fact is the organisation of Cultural Days that have become a good tradition and formed solid foundations for bringing our nations closer together, as well as for understanding the depths of the cultural aspects of the two countries.

In June this year, together with our Vietnamese colleagues and friends, we successfully held Cultural Days of Việt Nam in Belarus. A year earlier Cultural Days of Belarus was held in Việt Nam, timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus and Việt Nam. For the first time ever in the history of such events, we implemented the tradition of holding a programme in two cities. Only with a rich historical and cultural heritage, can one build a strong and independent state.

On a special and historically significant holiday for the Republic of Belarus, Independence Day, we sincerely would like to congratulate all the citizens of our Republic, our dear compatriots, respected colleagues and friends as well as express our confidence that the ties of friendship, support and mutual understanding already formed between Belarus and Việt Nam will only get stronger for the prosperity of our countries. — VNS