Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 19 December (BelTA) – 2017 has been a milestone year for the Belarusian-Israeli relations, Belarus’ Ambassador to Israel Vladimir Skvortsov said at the pre-New Year meeting with representatives of the Israeli Russian-speaking mass media, experts and bloggers in Tel Aviv, BelTA learned from the Belarusian diplomatic mission.

Attending the event were about 30 people. The ambassador expressed gratitude for attention to Belarus, a high level of cooperation and mutual understanding. Summing up the results of the outgoing year, he noted that 2017 has been a year of important bilateral events, including the marking of the 25^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two states.

“The cultural program was eventful. Cooperation at the governmental level was vibrant, first of all in the economic sector. The two countries intensified inter-parliamentary cooperation, reached positive results in credit and investment cooperation which materialized into the implementation of successful joint projects in Belarus with the participation of Israeli companies and loans,” stressed the diplomat.

The ties between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and Israel were viewed as partnership relations. Ministerial consultations are regularly held in five formats, including political, consular and legal ones.

According to the ambassador, over the past 25 years Belarus and Israel have made a giant step towards each other. Today, the Belarusian-Israeli interstate relations are a mixture of history, politics, economy, culture and science.

According to Vladimir Skvortsov, the citizens of Belarus and Israel have been traveling to each other visa free for two years already. “This increased tourist flows considerably and simplified exchanges in the cultural and business sectors,” the diplomat said.