Aleksandr Lukashenko receives credentials of foreign ambassadors

On Bosnia and Herzegovina

Belarus is open for contacts and multifaceted interaction with Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the President. “Despite artificial external barriers and the unstable international situation, we see opportunities to develop ties in areas of mutual interest. We have many positive examples of cooperation and joint projects, especially in mechanical engineering, agriculture, and healthcare,” he added.

Aleksandr Lukashenko is confident that regular bilateral contacts at diplomatic, business, regional and parliamentary levels will help identify new points of contact and launch new joint projects.

On Burkina Faso

This country is now going through an important period in its history, the President stressed. “Belarus is ready to lend a shoulder to our friends in industrializing various sectors of the economy and raising the level of efficiency. You can count on us. The same is true about such sectors as education, healthcare, high technology, as well as addressing challenges in defense and food security,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He suggested working on the development of coordination mechanisms such as a joint intergovernmental commission and business cooperation council.

On Georgia

“We highly appreciate and support Georgia's steps to defend its statehood and sovereignty. This goes in sync with our approaches. You, in Georgia, should do everything in the interests of the Georgian people,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “The traditions of friendship and mutual respect of Belarusians and Georgians, common pages of history are a solid basis for resumption of full-fledged comprehensive cooperation between our countries. You know very well that our doors are always open for you.”

“We have absolutely no problems in relations with Georgia,” the Belarusian leader stressed.

On India

“India is not just our long-standing friend and partner. We seek to achieve a strategic level of relations with your country,” the head of state said.

With the support of New Delhi, in 2024 Minsk joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a full member and received a partner status at BRICS. “We are very grateful to the Indian leadership for this,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

On Kenya

Belarus views Kenya as a stronghold in East Africa. “During the meeting with the President [of Kenya William Ruto] in December 2023, we agreed to intensify contacts in a number of areas. The key one is to ensure food security in Kenya. Belarus is ready for substantive work with the new government of your country,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko renewed his invitation to President William Ruto to visit Belarus at any time convenient for him.

On Laos

“Our interaction with Laos on the international arena has always been friendly and constructive. In the near future, we seek to implement the agreements reached during my meeting with the President [of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith] in Kazan last year. For this purpose a number of joint activities have been planned with our Lao partners,” the President said.

On Malaysia

The head of state called this country a promising partner in Southeast Asia. “Our countries have great untapped opportunities for cooperation in food security, industrial cooperation, information and communication technologies,” the Belarusian leader said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko wished Malaysia a successful presidency in ASEAN in 2025.

On Myanmar

The Belarusian President sees great prospects for developing partnership with Myanmar. A few days ago, Aleksandr Lukashenko discussed the whole range of bilateral relations with Chairman of the State Administrative Council, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing during his official visit to Belarus.

On Pakistan

“We value Pakistan as a reliable partner in South Asia and in the Muslim world in general. My recent visit to Islamabad resulted in agreements on many promising areas. Belarus is ready to strictly fulfill all the commitments undertaken, closely coordinating its actions with Pakistan,” the head of state added.

The head of state noted that a new tenure of an ambassador is a kind of a stage in bilateral relations. Proactive and wise work of the head of the diplomatic mission can significantly strengthen relations between the countries and raise them to a new level for the benefit of the countries and peoples.

“I hope that your tenure in Belarus will be filled with interesting events, new acquaintances, a lot of useful activities that will allow us to jointly implement many mutually beneficial projects. Belarus is open for this,” the Belarusian leader said.

“You will have the opportunity to see with your own eyes that Belarus is completely different from the image media have concocted using only black colors and negative characterizations. Contrary to Western stereotypes, we are a rapidly developing nation. Despite the external pressure, we are comprehensively building up our capabilities, offering our friends and partners all the best practices we have gained over decades in science, education, healthcare, industry, agriculture and other sectors,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that this year started with an important political campaign in Belarus - the election of the head of state, during which the voters expressed their convincing support for the course of building a strong independent socially oriented state.

“We call it a state for the people that wishes to live in peace, in harmony with all countries regardless of their size, position in world rankings or place on the map. This is the essence of our foreign policy, our approaches to building relations with our neighbors and countries geographically distant from us,” the President said.

“Believe me, when we are not issued ultimatums or dictated terms, when we see a similarity of views and perceptions, neither distance nor different faiths or cultural traditions will prevent us from reaching an agreement,” the head of state said. “The language of respect and openness is universal. It does not need an interpreter. It is understood on all continents. All that is needed is goodwill and good intentions.”

“The policy of peacefulness, good-neighborliness and honesty is predetermined by our history. Belarusians have exhausted their limit of wars and turbulence in the previous centuries,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.

He noted that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, which claimed the life of every third citizen and caused fatal destruction of most of the territory and economy of Belarus. In 1945, thanks to the Soviet people, fascism was defeated and all the peoples of Europe were able to breathe freely and begin their return to peaceful life. As a sign of international recognition of the contribution of the Belarusian people to the selfless fight against Nazism, Belarus became a founding member of the United Nations.

The President said that the sacred memory of the heroes-liberators, care for veterans, care for monuments and burial sites, inadmissibility of rewriting history are the essence of the state policy and ideology of the modern Belarusian state.

“This is not a manifestation of our bellicose policy, no matter how someone would like to present it that way. We just paid a very dear price for the victory, and we know very well the hardships and the losses, which the war brought us,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He also said that Belarus was conducting large-scale investigation into the crimes of the Nazis and their accomplices. And the facts that are discovered make one realize the true depth and scale of the Great Patriotic War in a new way.

“Therefore, at all levels we work every day to eliminate any discord in society, maintain interethnic and interfaith peace and harmony, do not threaten anyone, but at the same time strengthen the economic foundations and defense capacity of our state,” the head of state noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that Belarus advocates peaceful resolution of any conflicts through diplomatic means and is making considerable efforts to settle the armed confrontation in neighboring Ukraine and other hot spots as soon as possible. This is evidenced by the Belarusian initiatives to build an equal and indivisible security architecture, including in the Eurasian space, to hold a comprehensive dialogue in the spirit of the conference in San Francisco in 1945, which resulted in the creation of the UN Charter.