Conference on the cooperation between Belarus and Turkey held in Minsk on 26 February, 2011. The conference was organized with the support of the Foreign Policy and Security Research Center (FPS).
Turkish diplomats made welcoming remarks at the opening session.
Ms Veka Inal, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkey to Belarus, noted that the Belarusian-Turkish relations bases on more than 40 bilateral agreements. Belarus and Turkey plan to abolish visas. Turkey has invested in Belarus about $ 1 billion dollars, and the construction projects in Belarus valued at $700 million dollars.
Mr Reha Chamuroglu, the Chairman of the Belarusian-Turkish Interparliamentary Cooperation Group, drew attention to the fact that Turkey was the first country to officially recognize Republic of Belarus in 1992. Since 2000, commodity turnover between Belarus and Turkey has increased more than 9 times. Turkey is the third largest investor in Belarus. The total cost of the Turkish projects in Belarus is $120 million dollars. The biggest Turkish construction company «Emsas» is putting up a hotel in the center of Minsk.
