Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Azerbaijan and Belarus will discuss military-technical and energy cooperation issues during Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's visit to Baku in the near future.

President Lukashenko spoke about his Baku visit at a meeting with the heads of media outlets of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on October 21.

"We will discuss issues of military- technical cooperation and cooperation in the energy sector during my visit to Baku in the near future," Lukashenko said, noting that Baku and Minsk are developing military- technical cooperation.

Responding to Trend news agency's question about cooperation prospects within the CIS Lukashenko said Azerbaijan and Belarus has established a joint intergovernmental commission a year ago and this format works effectively as the leaders of the two countries are controlling its work.

The president went on to say that the two countries are establishing relations when new areas of cooperation appear over time.

Belarus has no closed topics with Azerbaijan, Lukashenko said.

The president also congratulated the Azerbaijani people on the presidential elections and President Ilham Aliyev in connection with his victory.

The meeting with the heads of the CIS media outlets held on the eve of the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of States to be held in Minsk on October 25, which will be a key event of Belarusian chairmanship in the CIS.

Azerbaijan and Belarus established diplomatic relations in 1993. In 2012, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $223.3 million.

There is a vast potential for the development of investment cooperation between the two counties and for Azerbaijan's involvement in the projects implemented in Belarus. Belarus is interested in increasing the capacity of Belarusian assembly plants operating in Azerbaijan, as well as implementation of new projects in construction, education, health, science and culture sectors.