On the Visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania to Belarus

25 July 2014

25-07-2014

On July 24 – 25 Foreign Minister of Lithuania Mr.Linas Linkevicius was on a working visit to Minsk.

On July 24 the Prime Minister of Belarus Mr.Mikhail Myasnikovich met with the Lithuanian Minister. During the meeting the parties discussed the issues of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries and the implementation of joint investment projects.

On July 25 the negotiations between Belarusian Foreign Minister Mr.Vladimir Makei and his Lithuanian colleague took place. The sides discussed a wide range of issues, concerning Belarus-Lithuania cooperation.

The Belarusian side underlined that in spite of different approaches and politically motivated limitations of EU, Belarus and Lithuania should develop bilateral interaction, first of all in the sphere of trade, investments, transport and transit.

The Foreign Ministers discussed the preparation for the next Belarus-Lithuania Economic Forum, which is planned to be held in Belarus this autumn.

The sides considered the issues of the effective usage of transport potential of the two countries and possibilities of their transport system.

The parties discussed in detail practical issues of improving joint border infrastructure and speeding up visa issuance.

In the context of Belarus-EU relations the Belarusian side underlined that it considers Eastern Partnership Initiative to be an important format for dialogue and interaction with the EU. At the same time, taking into account the situation in the region and multidirectional integration aspirations of the partner countries, this initiative needs to be reformatted in order to avoid discriminatory approach to its participants. The importance of enhancing the practical output of the Eastern Partnership for the citizens was underlined.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and Lithuania also touched upon the main topics on the international agenda, including issues of regional security.