Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 15 March (BelTA) - Belarus and Israel intend to maintain an active dialogue in politics, economy and IT, Belarus’ Ambassador to Israel Vladimir Skvortsov told BelTA when commenting on the meeting with Deputy Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alexander Ben-Zvi.

A number of priorities of the Belarusian-Israeli cooperation were discussed during the meeting. “We welcomed the intensification of interparliamentary dialogue between the two countries in 2018, as evidenced by the visits by representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus to Israel in February and March and their meetings with colleagues in the Knesset. The mutual intention to raise the level and intensity of political dialogue between the two countries was confirmed during the meeting,” Ambassador Vladimir Skvortsov noted.

Vladimir Skvortsov and Alexander Ben Zvi noted the productive bilateral consultations held by the foreign ministries and their specialized units in 2017 in three different formats, including ministerial political negotiations. The parties stressed the mutual interest in continuing the practice of holding consultations of experts in specific areas of cooperation this year.

Trade and economic relations were another topic of the discussion. The parties reviewed the preparations for the sixth meeting of the joint Belarusian-Israeli committee on trade and economic cooperation. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Israel in May 2018. According to Vladimir Skvortsov, the protocol of the fifth meeting held in Minsk a year ago has been almost fulfilled. This allows the two countries to move forward in a number of areas that have investment and innovative potential. The head of the Belarusian diplomatic mission believes that the matter should top the agenda of the forthcoming meeting of the intergovernmental commission.

Vladimir Skvortsov updated the deputy director general of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the digital economy ordinance and the advantages it provides to IT business. “The progressive legislation adopted in the country will give a new powerful impetus to the dynamically developing interaction between the two countries in the field of information technology,” the ambassador said.

Alexander Ben-Zvi named the areas of trade and economic cooperation, which seem to be most promising from the point of view of Israeli partners and which should make part of the agenda of the forthcoming meeting.