North Korean foreign minister Ri Su Yong expressed Pyongyang’s willingness to develop ties with Belarus following a meeting with his counterpart Uladzimer Makey on Tuesday, according to local media.

Ri arrived in Minsk on Monday and is expected to be in the country until March 12 to discuss a range of issues and, according to a spokesperson for the Belorussian foreign ministry, to tour industrial and historical sites.

“We have agreed that it is needed to create new mechanisms and formats of economic cooperation, step up interaction between foreign ministries (sic),” Ri was reported as saying by state media outlet Belta