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Belarus is interested in new friends in America, Lukashenka says

Belarus is interested to expand the circle of its friends in America and ready to step up cooperation with Nicaragua and Paraguay in all areas, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said in Minsk on April 5 while accepting the credentials of the new Moscow-based ambassadors of those countries.

The current level of relations with Nicaragua and Paraguay, especially in the trade and economic sphere, is below the potential, the government's news agency BelTA quoted Mr. Lukashenka as saying.

Despite the geographical distance, Latin America has become a region of special interest to Belarus, which plans to establish a solid and long-term presence there, Mr. Lukashenka said.

Belarus and Nicaragua can say that they have made significant progress in their relations even this year, Mr. Lukashenka told Nicaraguan Ambassador Luis Alberto Molina Cuadra.

Belarus is ready to identify several key cooperation areas with Nicaragua, which could include the machine-building and processing industries, he said.

"We're separated by a long distance, but in our hearts, we are very close to your country," the Paraguayan ambassador, Marcial Bobadilla Guillen, told the Belarusian leader, according to BelTA.

"The long distance between us and Caracas [Venezuela's capital city] does not stop us from developing cooperation," Mr. Lukashenka replied. "I believe that we can develop and strengthen relations with your country in the same way." //BelaPAN