BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

23/02/2009

Polish-Belarusian relations come in from the cold?

Deputy prime minister and minister for the economy Waldemar Pawlak is paying a visit to Belarus for talks on bilateral economic cooperation (photo: galeria, polskie radio).

The visit marks another thaw in relations between the two countries, which have been frosty all through the presidency of the controversial Aleksander Lukashenko, labeled by some as the 'last dictator in Europe'.

Pawlak's visit is the first from such a high ranking Polish politician to Belarus in six years.

"This is part of both the Eastern Partnership project and cooperation with the European Union," Vice PM Pawlak told Polish Radio this morning. "I am convinced it would be much better if Belarus had closer relations both with both Poland and the European Union as a whole," he said.

Minister Pawlak is having talks with Prime Minister Sergey Sidorski and his deputy Andrey Kobiakov.

The talks will include increasing trade between Poland and Belarus, the participation of Polish companies in the privatisation of the Belarus fuel-and-energy, banking and insurance sectors as well as improved access to agricultural markets.

Polish exports to Belarus now exceed 1.6 billion US dollars. (pg)

Source:

http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/foreignaffairs/artykul102926_polish_belarusian_relations_come_in_from_the.html

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