Republic

ASTANA, 24 May (BelTA) – The governments of Belarus and Kazakhstan have been charged with working out a bilateral intergovernmental agreement on trade and economic cooperation for the delivery of oil and oil products to Belarus, reads a joint statement signed by the presidents of Belarus and Kazakhstan after talks in Astana on 24 May. The Belarusian and Kazakh governments will focus on priority areas of economic, scientific and technical, and humanitarian cooperation. Among other things the governments will have to put together a program for developing bilateral trade and economic cooperation in 2012-2013. The program is supposed to be approved at a regular session of the Belarusian-Kazakh intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation. Among priority areas is the development of the energy dialogue, its consistent filling with practical content, including preparation of the bilateral agreement on trade and economic cooperation in deliveries of oil and oil products to Belarus taking into account international obligations of the two countries. The governments of Belarus and Kazakhstan have been also charged with focusing efforts on raising the mutual trade in commodities and services, on creating favorable conditions for expanding productive contacts between business circles, on enhancing manufacturing cooperation schemes, on creating competitive joint ventures with an export potential. There are plans to provide necessary support to joint projects, in particular, support by means of including such projects into state programs of Belarus and Kazakhstan. The governments have been tasked with promoting cooperation in agribusiness, military and technical cooperation, with introducing new instruments and areas of economic partnership, with enhancing scientific and technical cooperation, stepping up cooperation between chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries, promoting interregional ties, expanding cooperation in healthcare. The Belarusian and Kazakh governments have been tasked with implementing regular direct air links between Minsk and Astana in 2011. The heads of state of Belarus and Kazakhstan believe that direct flights will contribute to the intensification of business, tourism, scientific, academic, cultural contacts between the two countries and their citizens.

БЕЛТА