Belarus’ PM meets with Venezuelan foreign minister

The official visit of the Belarusian delegation to Venezuela bears special significance, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said as he met with Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Yvan Gil on 14 July, BelTA has learned. Roman Golovchenko thanked the Venezuelan government for the invitation. “This visit bears special significance. First of all, it is the first visit to Venezuela at the level of the Belarusian head of government. Secondly, it is taking place ahead of an important political event in Venezuela - the presidential election,” the prime minister said. The visit has several goals, Roman Golovchenko said. “We are here not only to discuss the whole range of trade and economic issues, but also to express our firm and unwavering support to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and to convey sincere words of support from Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko,” he added. Roman Golovchenko hopes that new agreements will be reached during the visit, and new decisions will be taken to help Belarus and Venezuela improve mutual trade and resolve issues related to some industrial projects that were launched during the term of the former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. “We are looking forward to Nicolas Maduro's visit to Belarus. We expect that after winning the presidential election he will choose Belarus as one of the countries to visit first,” he said. A large number of meetings at the highest levels are scheduled to take place as part of the official visit of the Belarusian government delegation to Venezuela. “There is an opportunity to discuss all aspects of Belarusian-Venezuelan relations in the political, economic and humanitarian sectors,” Roman Golovchenko said.