Belarus and Kazakhstan have a big economic groundwork, Director of the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research Oleg Makarov told BelTA.
Today, BISR is holding the round table "Kazakhstan and Belarus: the road of friendship and cooperation".
According to Oleg Makarov, cooperation development between Belarus and Kazakhstan demonstrate a very good dynamic. "Firstly, our trade turnover is growing. It was $1 billion in 2021 and it is expected to increase by 2 times. Second, we operate in a paradigm – the gateway to Asia – and consider Asia as one of the priorities of foreign policy. And Kazakhstan is, if not an entry point, then the main partner in cultural communication, great economic groundwork, so this is relevant. And third, we adhere to similar positions and views on the issues of sovereignty, the development of the country, on a strong presidential power, constitutional reforms (we have similar processes in lawmaking), on the development of the economy and defending our interests. Kazakhstan's position in the international arena is very bright today. It is interesting for us," Oleg Makarov said.
Moreover, our countries actively interact both in a bilateral format and in regional integration associations. "We are interested in the SCO now, and this topic is interesting for us. Also, the CSTO, the CIS, those regional organizations where we can be useful to each other," BISR director said.