2 Mar 2023 20:43

Contract for supply of Abkhaz wines to Belarus signed - Abkhaz president

SUKHUM. March 2 (Interfax) - The main areas of cooperation between Abkhazia and Belarus could be IT, tourism, and agriculture, Abkhaz President Aslan Bzhania told reporters in Sukhum after his recent visit to Belarus.

A contract has already been signed for the supply of Abkhaz wines to Belarus, he said. Besides, an Abkhaz trading house will be working in Minsk, and Abkhaz workers will be able to participate in the international art festival Slavic Bazaar, he said.

"It was a very important and useful trip. It helped establish closer contacts between Abkhazia and Belarus," Bzhania said.

He was especially impressed by the Hi-Tech Park in Minsk, which exports intellectual produces (mainly solutions in the sphere of software and microelectronics) worth more than $2 billion with starting investment of some $200 million, and the tax proceeds reach at least $350 million a year.

"There are very many interesting and useful things in the republic, we can use experience in many areas [...] Contacts will continue, they are useful, they will bring a huge number of good things. You see how close the positions of Belarus and Russia have become. We are their allies, we are Russia's allies, we want to be allies for Belarus too, and we definitely need to work in this key," Bzhania said.

The presidents of Abkhazia and Belarus met in Minsk on February 21.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said during his meeting with Bzhania he hopes for development of relations with Abkhazia, including in the sphere of tourism.

On February 28, Abkhazia's Foreign Minister Inal Ardzinba said that the Abkhaz president reached an agreement on shipments of wines produced in the country to Belarus during his visit to Minsk. "We are also discussing other goods being produced in Abkhazia. On the other side are Belarusian goods: dairy products and other commodity positions of a broader spectrum to be supplied to Abkhazia," Ardzinba said then in an interview with Rossiya 24 (VGTRK) television channel. The sides are also discussing other joint projects, including in tourism sector, he said.

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