Business news

MINSK, 24 October (BelTA) – Belarus and Poland have plans to remove the barriers to mutual trade, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Rusy told reporters after the fourth meeting of the joint Belarusian-Polish commission for economic cooperation on 24 October, BelTA has learned.

“Today we have discussed issues that hamper the growth and development of businesses in Belarus and Poland. Instructions have been given to remove these barriers. In fact, we have almost eliminated them. We see positive trends in our trade, and we should have a 10-15% increase every year,” Mikhail Rusy said.

Belarus expects that this year, its trade with Poland will exceed $2.5 billion. Mikhail Rusy believes it is important to maintain close cooperation in agriculture, construction, power engineering, oil processing industry, mechanical engineering, and services. Cooperation in these sectors will enable the countries to reach a bilateral trade target of $4 billion.

The parties also considered the possibility of increasing the frequency of flights between Belarus and Poland. “We have discussed a wide range of issues of importance to our countries: the possibility of increasing the frequency of flights, the transportation industry in general, visa-related issues and visa-free travel. We have issued relevant instructions, and I believe that the issues will be swiftly resolved,” Mikhail Rusy added.

Belarus and Poland also agreed to hold meetings of the commission for economic cooperation twice instead of once a year.