Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus A.Dapkiunas meets the Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry of Singapore

05-06-2019

On June 5, 2019 the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Andrei Dapkiunas, met with the Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry of Singapore, Koh Poh Koon.

The sides confirmed the mutual interest of the two countries in the gradual development of multilateral relations, primarily in the field of economy, trade and investment.

Background Information: In 2019, Singapore was ranked first in the global competitiveness ranking of the economy, ahead of the United States and SAR Hong Kong. The annual trade volume between Belarus and Singapore exceeds 50 million U.S. dollars.

The interlocutors continued the discussion that began the day before during the meeting of the Singaporean Minister with the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Turchin, and considered the possibilities of creating necessary conditions for fruitful work of Belarusian economic entities at the Singaporean market, including banking services.

The Head of the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore and the Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus also discussed ways of more efficient use of opportunities in terms of transferring experience and knowledge within the framework of the Singapore Cooperation Programme implemented under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore. The interlocutors agreed to put a greater focus of the cooperation programme in country segment on the most important sectors of the economy and system challenges for Belarus, as well as on gaining greater impact of the programme through the participation of the senior management of the agencies and institutions.

The Belarusian diplomat and the Singaporean Minister discussed the prospects of the participation of Belarusian high-tech manufacturers in the field of information and communication technologies at the world’s largest industry exhibitions and forums SWITCH and FinTecht to be held in Singapore in autumn in 2019.

A.Dapkiunas and Koh Poh Koon exchanged views on the negotiation process on the establishment of a free trade zone between the Eurasian Economic Union and Singapore. The Singaporean Minister confirmed Singapore’s support for Belarus’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The interlocutors noted the mutual interest of the two countries in concluding a bilateral agreement on trade in services and investments after Belarus’s accession to the WTO.

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