Alyaksandr Lukashenka had meetings with the presidents of Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and Haiti while staying in Caracas on March 8 to attend the funeral of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
According to the government’s news agency BELTA, Mr. Lukashenka and the president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, confirmed during their meeting that the agreements reached during Mr. Lukashenka’s state visit to Ecuador in June 2012 remained in force. Mr. Correa, who was reelected in February for another four-year term, promised to pay a return visit. He noted that at its meeting scheduled for the following week, the Ecuadorean Council of Ministers would hear a report on the implementation of agreements between the two countries.
Mr. Lukashenka had conversations with Raul Castro, president of the Council of State of Cuba and president of the Cuban Council of Ministers, and Haitian President Michel Martelly. Mr. Martelly noted that Hugo Chavez had repeatedly spoken very warmly about Belarus, BELTA said.
Following Mr. Lukashenka’s meeting with the president of Bolivia, Juan Evo Morales, Viktar Sheyman, head of the property management department of the Presidential Administration who co-chairs the High-Level Belarusian-Venezuelan Commission, said that an agreement had been reached to discuss with the new Venezuelan leadership several trilateral projects totaling $2 billion to $3 billion.
A special working group is expected to be set up for this purpose before July at the Belarusian embassy in Caracas, whose activities would be coordinated by Mr. Sheyman.
According to BELTA, Messrs. Lukashenka and Morales agreed to develop Belarusian-Bolivian relations after the pattern of Belarusian-Venezuelan relations. The president of Bolivia asked Belarus for assistance in the development of the agricultural sector, the construction of agricultural facilities and housing, the development of mineral resources, and personnel training.
