OREANDA-NEWS. October 11, 2010. President Alexander Lukashenko met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Martynov.

Reviewing the results of his recent visit to Turkey, the Head of State gave orders to analyse several areas of interaction with this country, particularly mechanical engineering, light industry, transport.

Turkey is a very important and promising foreign economic partner for Belarus. Today Turkey is a strong, industrially advanced regional power. Turkey's GDP exceeds USD 600 billion. In the post-crisis period, this country has already achieved a high rate of industrial development. This year the rate of growth of industrial production has been more than 10 per cent, which proves the country's fast economic recovery. Belarus and Turkey have a long history of trade relations. In the five years preceding the crisis the bilateral trade grew six times; in the first half of 2010 it grew by 40 per cent. But the Belarusian side is not fully satisfied with today's volume of bilateral trade, and the platform built during the Belarusian-Turkish top level talks makes it possible to take serious action to advance the bilateral co-operation to a higher level.

President Alexander Lukashenko's working visit to Turkey and the substantive talks conducted with the Turkish President and Prime Minister have made it possible to build a stronger and more comprehensive platform. The Istanbul talks were wide-ranging. The sides discussed a whole range of bilateral relations from economic relations to interaction within international and regional organizations and institutions. The two Leaders agreed that the Turkish President and the Prime Minister would visit Belarus soon. In this regard, intensive work will have to be carried out to fulfil the agreements.

The work will be conducted in several stages. Within the next months the respective ministers will hold a meeting to identify specific joint projects. In mid-November the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey is expected to visit Minsk. During that visit the sides will identify the topics and projects for further development and realisation.

At the second stage, the sides will hold the necessary preparations for these projects, and in the first quarter of 2011 Minsk will host a session of the Belarusian-Turkish intergovernmental commission for trade and economic co-operation.

At the third stage, these agreements will be brought to the level of specific contracts which will be signed during the Turkish Prime Minister's visit to Belarus. According to preliminary plans, the visit might take place as soon as in the spring of 2011.