Belarus, Venezuela to establish mutual air transportation and trade

A Venezuelan delegation and heads of Belarus’ aviation industry met at the Minsk National Airport for business negotiations – as reported to BelTA by the Minsk National Airport’s press service

The delegation – headed by Venezuela’s Deputy Minister of Air Transport and President of Conviasa, Ramon Velasquez – also featured the President of the National Institute of Civil Aviation (INAC), Juan Teixeira, the INAC General Manager for Aviation Security, Victor Palacios, the INAC General Manager for Air Transport, Anira Padron, and others. They came to Minsk for talks which were also attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the Republic of Belarus, Franklin Ramirez Araque, and other representatives of the diplomatic mission.

The issues of establishing direct passenger and cargo flights between Venezuela and Belarus were discussed at the meeting, and the heads of the Minsk National Airport and Belavia Airline informed on their organisations’ opportunities, activities and prospects. During the negotiations, the Venezuelan side presented its Conviasa Airline which is the flagship of Venezuela's civil aviation and the country's largest air operator. Conviasa has almost three dozen European and American aircraft.

"Despite the cold weather and snow outside, we felt the warmth and Belarusian hospitality. Belarus and Venezuela are separated by 12,000km, so our goal is to connect the peoples of Belarus and Venezuela by an air bridge. This is exactly the task that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has set for us. Conviasa Airline is ready to operate passenger and cargo flights to Belarus. It has been operational in the market since 2004, and its planes can perform short, medium and long-distance flights. We aim to develop long-haul flights and establish fraternal relations,” Ramon Velasquez said.

Following their negotiations, the sides signed a memorandum of understanding. "We hope the establishment of air communication will contribute to development of the tourism industry of our both countries, supply of Venezuelan goods to Belarus and, accordingly, Belarusian goods to Venezuela, and also strengthening of our fraternal relations," Franklin Ramirez Araque added.

"We believe cargo flights from the two countries will be performed on a regular basis in the coming future, and Belarus will become a point for mutual promotion of our goods, including to third countries. We know that Venezuela – like Belarus – seriously faces certain US sanctions, and this forces us to look for new ways to solve logistical problems. Our countries manage to solve these issues effectively," Artem Sikorsky, the Director of the Aviation Department at Belarus’ Ministry of Transport and Communications, commented on the situation.

The co-operation draft has been submitted to state bodies for further approval. It will be ready for signing by the two states’ governments in the near future.