India and Belarus are interesting to each other. Interview with Consul General in Mumbai

Belarusian-Indian relations are developing at a very dynamic level. The volume of bilateral trade between the countries by the end of 2025 for the first time exceeded a billion dollars, the growth trend continues this year, and the range of trade has long gone beyond potash fertilizers and pharmaceutical products. Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov said this in an interview with The Economic Times. India is not only another promising point for the development of economic cooperation. Alexander Matsukov, Consul General of Belarus in Mumbai, discussed trade, tourism, culture and how our country can be attractive for Indians.

What interests does Belarus have in Mumbai?

- Our Consulate General is responsible not only for Mumbai, but also for other regions of the Indian south, as well as for the interregional vector. And if the sphere of responsibility of the embassy is the “center”: working with the country’s leadership, the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then we are more engaged in applied work on the ground, interacting with the states. Our consular district includes six states and one union territory, with about 360 million people living there. The population of the state of Maharashtra, where the city of Mumbai is located, is 130 million. Almost like the Russian population. The Indians treat us well. They are quite active, albeit cautious. Interests? This morning I had an event dedicated to the development of cooperation in the agricultural sector. India is an agrarian country, and they want to promote this industry. An example is bananas. They come to us from Ecuador. Why not come from India, a country that is closer to us and with which we have a history of relations? The issue is trade volume, price. Or mangoes. In our stores, they are green and tasteless. It's just the juice running through the hands. The flow of Belarusian tourists to India has increased significantly. And that says a lot. For example, our standard of living. We don't rest anywhere near here anymore. It's not close. Tickets are expensive. But they fly here. How to fly to Thailand, to Chinese Hainan, to Sri Lanka. Therefore, one of the directions of development of our bilateral relations is related to tourism. We are also trying to attract Indian tourists to our country.

- Our Government has decided to change the visa rules and introduce an electronic visa for Indian citizens. How will this affect the tourist flow?

There is interest, and it is quite strong. Belarusian visas, imagine, have recently even begun to forge... Moreover, they are trying to forge not only the visas themselves, but even documents about payment for them. If the document is not popular, no one will be engaged in its forgery. The introduction of an electronic visa is one of the steps. Direct flights are already flying between Belarus and India, Belavia has been operating in the country for three years. Indians are used to traveling a lot. But for them now the main directions are the countries of Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam. And they go to Western Europe a lot. A little less in the United States, Canada. Businessmen fly to Africa because they feel Africa is the future. There are, of course, ties to the UK. They have a large diaspora there. The same goes for Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, where a lot of people study. Our task is to direct the flow to our country.

- In this context, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said that e-visa will strengthen ties with the regions, as well as open two additional direct flights to Goa and Mumbai. Goa, understand. It's rest. And Mumbai? Business?

- Yeah. Here are just a few examples. In June this year, the first Belarusian-Indian business forum was held in Mumbai. There is a company that is interested in cooperation with Belaz. This is a very marginal business for us. There's movement. Pharmaceuticals. Belarus buys a lot of good, high-quality pharmaceuticals here. Prices in terms of availability are very good. And since this sphere in our country is socially oriented and significant, for us it is what we need.

In Minsk, on the basis of Academpharma, it is planned to open a Research Center named after Yusuf Hamid, the owner of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies - Cipla. This is a very serious investor who gives us technology. For a long time, this project was not promoted, but after the visit to India of the Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences Vladimir Karanik, he received a second wind. There are also joint projects of Academpharma with the pharmaceutical company Reliance Life Sciences. Mukesh Ambani owns it. He's the richest man in India. There are interests in the field of cinema. Being physically here in Mumbai is an opportunity to meet Bollywood filmmakers. We position our country, show, invite: come, let’s discuss. After all, cinema is not only about culture, films, ideology. It is also a good business based on film production abroad. First, a small advanced group of 5-10 people goes abroad, which gets acquainted with the opportunities for filming, equipment, field sites or pavilions, looking for interesting locations. Why shouldn't our castles be like that? “Belarusian” part of the budget of the group, which went to “Belarusfilm”, – 324 thousand dollars. And included in this amount not only the services of our film studio, but also accommodation, plane tickets, shopping in stores. This project is also working in the medium term. The company came, made a film. People are like, "Oh, class, what kind of lock is that?" I want to go there”. And this is in fact an advertising of our country and contributes to the development of tourism.

- They see us as a full European country. And they value Europe in terms of technology, culture, locations, our way of life, cleanliness and neatness, convenience of life, its organization.

- Would the Forum of Regions be interesting for India? In the format as it is being held with Russia, China, Uzbekistan?

- I think it's potentially possible. But first, we need to sign several agreements – memorandums of understanding between the regions. Once they are signed, it will untie your hands. Of course, we can engage in interregional cooperation, but such documents provide opportunities, for example, financing for specific projects and trips. Indians are also interested in these issues. They say about Belarus that we have a very cool geographical location. They say that we “slam” directly into Europe, and to the east of us – huge Russian expanses, near the Baltic Sea, corridors: “North-South”, “West-East”. So they're interested. In any case, until the consulate general was opened in Mumbai, many people did not know what Belarus was. Working with regions is not easy here. Physically, the embassy is located in the north of the huge country - in Delhi. On a systematic basis, you will not be in the regions.

And here you need routine work: constant contacts, personal communication. We got results. This year we opened a representative office of Belarusbank to provide bank transfers. The representative office of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry works. The embassy is considering appointing honorary consuls in several Indian cities to complement bilateral cooperation. Having walked not in business Mumbai, but in an ordinary city, having talked with people who, in principle, do not have business contacts with representatives of other countries, we concluded for ourselves that we would like to know a little more about Belarus in this part of the world. After three years in Mumbai, what do you think?

- They really don't know much about us. Therefore, part of our work, my personal work is to convey information about the country. I often speak to students. I tell them where the country is, I show them slides with a map, I talk about illegal sanctions. The population of Belarus is smaller than that of Mumbai. According to unofficial data, up to 30 million people live here. It is important not only to convey information about Belarus, but also to attract as many people as possible to us. In mid-July, he took a delegation of Indian filmmakers to Belarusfilm. But we want not only to make films with Indians, but also to show Indian cinema here. Therefore, we had meetings in the Minsk city "Kinovideoprokat". They were impressed with Minsk’s infrastructure and our products, especially when I brought them to the mall. Lipstick and shampoos are great. They appreciated not only the quality, but also the price. They bought makeup and left with huge bags. In October, we are going to hold a joint festival with them “Privitanne, Mumbai”. Belarusians also play in the Symphony Orchestra of India. Two on a permanent basis. And a few people involved. The orchestra also opened an academy where children study. And in November they go to Minsk and Mogilev on tour, will give a few concerts there. By the way, we invite you to concerts that will be held in the Minsk Philharmonic and Mogilev College of Arts. This is how we make our country popular – people’s interest is awakening, and it affects all aspects of our lives at once: tourism, business, and trade and economic relations. And in order to build these bridges, it is necessary, of course, to deal with cultural issues, cinema, and music. That's our priority. Attracting at least a few percent of India’s economy is expensive.

deu@sb.by