Turkey, Belarus seek to cement bilateral relations

Turkish prime minister on Thursday reiterated Turkey's willingness to boost bilateral relations with Belarus during his two-day official visit to the country.

"Neither Belarus not Turkey has a hidden agenda. We only care about our countries' development and welfare of our people," Binali Yıldırım said at a joint news conference with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

Yıldırım said he had a "fruitful" meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Andrei Kobyakov.

The two premiers discussed a roadmap to enhance bilateral relations which was agreed in 2016 during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Belarus.

Lukashenko, for his part, said Turkey-Belarus relations gained a momentum in trade and economic areas.

He hoped the trade volume between the two countries will exceed $1 billion.

The two countries inked agreements in six fields including transportation, economy, sports, science, and librarianship.

Turkey-Belarus Business Forum will be held in Minsk on Thursday, where further development of mutual trade, economic and investment cooperation would be discussed.

Turkey was the first country to recognize the independence of Belarus. Diplomatic relations were established in 1992.