Максим Рыженков и Субраманьям Джайшанкар. Фото: t.me/BelarusMFA
Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhankou met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit. The meeting took place in India on September 12, where Ryzhankou arrived on the instructions of Aliaksandr Lukashenka.
The sides discussed Belarusian-Indian cooperation in the political, economic, consular and humanitarian spheres, and “positively assessed cooperation on multilateral platforms, including BRICS and the SCO.”
One of the topics discussed was the schedule of bilateral visits at the highest and high levels. The expansion of Belarus’ consular presence in India’s regions was also discussed.
In trade and economic cooperation, the sides discussed preparations for a roadmap for bilateral cooperation for 2026-2030 and the holding of the 12th meeting of the Belarusian-Indian Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation in Economic, Trade, Industrial, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Affairs. According to Ryzhankou, trade between the countries has already exceeded $1 billion and continues to grow.
The sides also agreed to facilitate the earliest possible conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and India.
Jaishankar separately highlighted the meeting between Aliaksandr Lukashenka and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held on August 31 on the sidelines of the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO in Kyrgyzstan, calling it “extremely important.” The Indian foreign minister “also highly praised Belarus’ efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis and normalize the situation in the region of Eastern Europe,” the Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s press service said.
In the humanitarian sphere, Ryzhankou said the Belarusian government had decided to issue electronic visas to Indian citizens. He said that increasing the number of flights between Minsk and New Delhi, as well as other major Indian cities, should also contribute to developing contacts between the countries.