President Volodymyr Zelensky met his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Zhytomyr on Sept.4 to discuss major economic and political questions during the Second Forum of Regions of Ukraine and Belarus.
It was Zelensky’s first meeting with Lukashenko in his role as president of Ukraine.
“For some reason, I’m convinced that everything we agree on, will be fulfilled. History gave us this chance,” said Lukashenko.
Zelensky was in an optimistic mood, saying that there are no borders between the two countries.
“Mentally we are very close,” said Zelensky.
The Belarusian delegation of around 500 came to Zhytomyr, a Ukrainian city 130 kilometers west of Kyiv and 175 kilometers from the Belarusian border to participate in the two-day event.
The Belarusian president said that today’s goal is to examine bilateral relations and reach agreements mainly related to alternative ways to deliver petroleum products to Ukrainian enterprises from the global markets.
“We will take actions on this,” said Lukashenko. “This is a necessity for us. It is security for both countries.”
Zelensky named the fuel and energy sector, infrastructure and agriculture as top economic priorities for Ukraine’s cooperation with Belarus. The Ukrainian president said that large scale changes in Ukraine will enhance cooperation between businesses, creditors and investors in the two countries.
“I invite Belarusian investors to cooperate actively,” said Zelensky.
Last year, the first forum was held in Belarusian city of Gomel. Businesses signed $100 million worth of contracts at the meeting.
The value of this year’s contracts is expected to be five times higher as 200 business representatives from the Ukrainian and Belarusian sides will sign cooperation agreements, according to Zelensky, who said that Belarus is Ukraine’s key trading partner.
Last year, trade between two countries reached $5.21 billion, 16.7 a percent increase from 2017, according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine.
“We can and should exceed $6-8 billion in trade (with Belarus),” said Zelensky.
But trade still falls short compared to 2012, when the bilateral traded was more than $8 billion, according to Lukashenko.
Lukashenko sees the reform of Ukraine’s energy market as an opportunity for cooperation with Ukraine.
“We already signed contracts for electricity supply. And with the launch of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in 2020 we will be very interested to look at Ukraine’s nuclear experience,” said Lukashenko.
Zelensky also said that Ukrainian channel UA-TV is broadcasting on Belarusian cable networks and that other private and state-owned channels should follow suit.
Both presidents joked a lot amid a friendly atmosphere inside the forum venue, the Zhytomyr National Agroecological University. But the mood of the people outside was a lot less optimistic.
Activists on the street near the building organized a protest holding posters with messages such as “Benya’s (Ihor Kolomoisky’s nickname) puppet became Kremlin’s puppet” and “Where is corruption’s imprisonment?”
