Lukashenko: “Belarus needs Georgia and Georgia needs Belarus”

Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze has met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk today.

Janelidze is paying a two-day official visit to Belarus upon the invitation of Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei.

Meeting btw FM @JanelidzeMkh & President of #Belarus Lukashenko. Exchanged once again existing great friendship and support btw 2Nations pic.twitter.com/UtOZkdbm3x

— MFA of Georgia (@MFAgovge) September 4, 2017

At today’s meeting Lukashenko stressed a "special” friendship and feelings Belarusians have for Georgia.

"We know that the great Georgian nation and its culture helped develop other nations and cultures, including ours. We also know very well where mankind started in this part of our planet and we respect and appreciate all of this”, Lukashenko told Janelidze.

Janelidze thanked Lukashenko for his help during the Borjomi Gorge forest fire in Georgia earlier this August when Belarus sent a helicopter to extinguish it.

Discussing bilateral relations, the pair stressed trade-economic cooperation between the two nations. They said that there is a big potential for Georgia and Belarus to help each other boost their economies.

"We need you a lot, just like you need us”, Lukashenko said.

"Georgia produces goods that Belarus needs and Belarus produced goods that Georgia needs”.

The pair stressed the importance of sharing Belarus’ experience in developing agriculture technologies.

Talking about cultural relations, Lukashenko mentioned the Georgian festival Tbilisoba 2017 in the capital of Belarus which was attended by more than 55,000 people last week.

Janelidze announced that in 2018, Tbilisi will host the Belarusian Culture Week.

Press Conference by the Foreign Ministers of Belarus and Georgia https://t.co/hrRfDHrat5

— Belarus MFA (@BelarusMFA) September 4, 2017

While in Minsk, Janelidze also met with his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei.