OREANDA-NEWS. December 03, 2009. President Alexander Lukashenko is meeting with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of the Italian Republic, reported the Official website president.gov.by.

The talks between Alexander Lukashenko and Silvio Berlusconi will be held in a narrow circle of participants and then with broader participation. After the talks the sides are expected to sign a range of bilateral documents. In the course of their talks, the President of Belarus and the Italian Premier will focus on the aspects of bilateral cooperation related to commerce, trade, politics and economy.

In January-September 2009, Italy was Belarus' 7th biggest trade partner, 11th biggest importer of Belarusian goods and 4th biggest exporter of goods to Belarus. Within this period, the Belarus-Italy trade approximated US612 million, with Belarus’ export amounting to US 110.5 million. The dwindling of Belarus’ exports to Italy was caused by a sharp decline in production of Italy’s metal-based manufacturing industry.

As of early 2009, there were 80 companies with Italian investments operating in Belarus, including 49 joint enterprises and 31 foreign companies. In H1 2009, a total of nearly US 1.3 million of Italian investments were attracted to Belarus, including over US 1 million of direct investments.

Italy provides considerable support to Belarus in the humanitarian field. For over 20 years after the Chernobyl catastrophe Italy has been Belarus’ main partner in providing recuperation for Belarusian children abroad. In January-September 2009, over 13,000 Belarusian children recuperated in Italy.