President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Yerlan Koshanov, the Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan and leader of the Kazakh parliamentary delegation, which paid an official visit to Belarus at the invitation of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly. The visit programme for the Kazakh parliamentarians included a series of meetings and negotiations, visits to enterprises, as well as trips to memorial sites related to the Great Patriotic War. The Kazakh parliamentary delegation toured BelAZ, where they familiarised themselves with the plant’s production capabilities and discussed prospects for co-operation.
Welcoming the guest at the Palace of Independence, Aleksandr Lukashenko began by expressing his appreciation to Yerlan Koshanov for his efforts, “I have been following your visit. Thank you for concentrating on practical actions, not just parliamentary issues. This is naturally very important, especially now that you have taken on the Constitution and decided to modernise it.”
The Head of State emphasised that there is no difference between Belarus and Kazakhstan in terms of our approaches and views on the international agenda,
“We share the same vision for the development of our world; we support multipolarity and want the new countries that emerged, including those formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, to be sovereign and independent.You know this well, as does your President. You greatly helped us during our attempt to join the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation. I primarily turned to my Kazakh friends. They not only supported us but also helped co-ordinate with other countries to guarantee they offered similar support. We are very grateful to you.”
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus and Kazakhstan are members of several regional and international organisations, including the EAEU, CSTO, CIS, and the United Nations. “In other words, we participate together wherever needed and where our interests align. This reflects our shared approaches to addressing various global and regional issues,” the Belarusian leader highlighted.
The President expressed his belief that there is potential to further enhance trade-economic relations between Belarus and Kazakhstan. Aleksandr Lukashenko specifically noted, “As I always say, trade is the foundation. I once hoped that our trade turnover with Kazakhstan would approach $1bn. Today, we have already exceeded that figure, but there is still room for growth.”
The President also pointed out that Belarus produces significantly more goods across all sectors than it consumes domestically, stating,
“We are a machinery-producing country with a highly developed agricultural sector. This is exactly what Kazakhstan needs. We are ready not only to supply you with products but also to establish joint production facilities with you, working together and moving forward in this direction. I believe that speaking the same language will make this much easier for us.”
Kazakh parliamentary delegation headed by Yerlan Koshanov, Chairman of Mazhilis, toured BELAZPhoto courtesy of House of Representatives
The President emphasised that, given the vast areas of grain cultivation in Kazakhstan, Belarusian grain harvesters, MAZ trucks and other agricultural machinery are in high demand. Furthermore, their quality matches that of Western equipment. “It is necessary to explore new ways to showcase ourselves, demonstrate the machinery and train those who will operate our equipment there. That way, the question of which machinery is better will become irrelevant. Therefore, we are ready to set up production facilities with you. We must move forward in this direction,” the Belarusian leader stressed.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also emphasised the need to accelerate interregional co-operation between Belarus and Kazakhstan, adding that the upcoming first forum of the regions of the two countries will help advance this goal.
The Head of State highlighted that both Belarus and Kazakhstan are preparing to organise a forum of regions and noted that both states have experience in interregional interaction with Russia,
“This interregional co-operation brings good results. We will hold the forum of regions (wherever you suggest, we will hold it there) to further promote this co-operation.”The President suggested increasing the involvement of local authorities from both countries to strengthen ties at the regional level, “In both your country and ours, governors hold considerable power. We need to bring them into this process. Governors, both in your country and ours, are key figures. No matter how we look at it, much depends on them, especially in your case due to the large size of your territory. Therefore, we should speed up and expand this initiative and not be concerned about this ‘middle level’ beginning to co-operate. This will make things easier for us too.”
Yerlan Koshanov noted that this was not his first visit to Minsk; he had previously been here through the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly and on personal trips, “Each time, the first thing that catches my attention is the orderliness, the high level of organisation and the ongoing developments. This is mainly your accomplishment. We recognise and appreciate your efforts.”
The Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan conveyed the warmest greetings and best wishes from the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to Aleksandr Lukashenko. “Kassym-Jomart Kemelovich greatly appreciates your tremendous contribution to the development of bilateral co-operation between Belarus and Kazakhstan,” Mr. Koshanov stated.
Palace of Independence * * *
LOGO FOR YEAR OF BELARUSIAN WOMAN CHOSEN UNANIMOUSLY FROM 100+ ENTRIES
The Belarusian Women’s Union has revealed the logo for the Year of the Belarusian Woman in the republic — as noted by Olga Shpilevskaya, the Chairperson of the Belarusian Women’s Union, BelTA reportsShortly after the President declared the theme for 2026, the Belarusian Women’s Union launched a contest to design the logo. “We wanted to see how young girls and women envision the logo, how they imagine it. Each participant was free to create their own version based on intuition and feelings. We did not provide any specific guidelines because we believe that Belarusian women themselves should propose the symbol for this year,” Ms. Shpilevskaya explained.
The contest was open to all regional, united and primary organisations of the Belarusian Women’s Union. Over 100 different designs were submitted. Many entries shared a similar style, with numerous designs aiming to depict the image or face of a woman, though the interpretations varied widely.
The winner was Yevgenia Pogranichnaya, a leader of the youth wing of the Volkovysk district organisation of the Belarusian Women’s Union. She is a photographer who has held several personal photo exhibitions and enjoys photographing families and women. According to Ms. Shpilevskaya, the decision to select Yevgenia Pogranichnaya’s design was unanimous. “Everyone agreed that this design incorporates everything: the country’s symbolism with red and green colours, the ornament, the cornflower — a symbol of Belarus and the Belarusian Women’s Union — and, of course, the image of the Belarusian woman, which conveys both lightness and strength, kindness and beauty,” the Chairperson of the Belarusian Women’s Union pointed out.
Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by
