Belarus is ready to boost cooperation with Japan, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with Kyodo, a Japanese news agency, on October 18. “Soon we will intensify activities in the Japanese direction. I believe that Japan will do the same as it is beneficial to cooperate with us and use Belarus as a foothold in the center of Europe for economic expansion to the West and other states,” the President said. However, it is necessary to set up a good bilateral legal base first, Alexander Lukashenko believes. “Now we have no basic agreements regulating trade-economic cooperation, investment protection. Nonetheless, the Japanese are not afraid to work in Belarus and to open joint ventures here,” the head of state said. The President praised the trade turnover between the two countries. “Although our turnover is not big, it has been stably growing. The upward trend is preserved this year which means that our countries have goods to trade in. In fact we compete at the international market yet our economies have found opportunities for cooperation,” Alexander Lukashenko declared. In 2006, the trade turnover between Belarus and Japan totaled $147 million, an increase of 2.3 times as against same time 2005. In January-August 2007 the turnover exceeded $160 million. The Belarusian exports to Japan include dry milk, integrated circuits, glass fiber, optical and measuring tools, lasers and lenses. Japan exports to Belarus cars, communications devices, photocopiers, automatic loaders, road hardware and data processing machines.