MINSK, June 8 (BelTA) – Belarus will remain intent on stepping up the European vector of cooperation, said President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko as he met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia Samuel Zbogar on June 8. “You can rest assured that all the developments in relations with our western partner, the European Union, is not an exceptional step on our part, not some game, it is the pursuance of our long-time strategic policy,” stressed Alexander Lukashenko. He underscored that the motives are simple: at present Belarus-EU trade is roughly equal to Belarus-Russia trade while the former boasts a surplus. “That says it all. Nobody will dare ignore the fact. The European Union means technologies, credit resources, investments,” said the head of state. The President confirmed that this vector of cooperation is very important for Belarus. Addressing the Slovenian Foreign Minister, the President said he hopes the visit will give another boost to the cooperation and will contribute to improving political cooperation between the two countries as well as cooperation between Belarus and the European Union. Speaking about trade and economic relations, the President of Belarus remarked that among countries of the former Yugoslavia the trade development is fastest with Slovenia. Many Slovenian businessmen work effectively in Belarus and Belarus will continue supporting Slovenian businessmen. The head of state remarked that Belarus has declared a clear policy supporting business from republics of the former Yugoslavia. Alexander Lukashenko met with representatives of Serbian business circles a while ago. Belarus has hosted an exhibition of Serbian products, which turned out to be quite popular. “We have a serious foundation to build the future cooperation with Slovenia on. It is worth a lot because we don’t have that in our relations with other countries,” said the Belarusian head of state. Alexander Lukashenko reminded that Belarus and Slovenia established good relations during the Soviet Union times. “Yugoslavia had the most advanced achievements of the socialist bloc. Perhaps at that time you had the economy development pattern that we aspire to achieve today,” remarked the head of state.

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