Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 3 June (BelTA) – Canada’s restrictions on the trade with Belarus can be canceled by the end of the year, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Poland with concurrent accreditation to Belarus Stephen de Boer said in an interview with BelTA.

According to the diplomat, the trade restrictions were imposed on Belarus a long time ago. Technically, Belarus is still on the list of the countries subject to Canada’s export restrictions. These trade barriers are just technical. “Today there is an opportunity to develop trading relations with Belarus, even though your country is technically still on that list,” the ambassador added.

According to Ambassador Stephen de Boer, there is a set of amendments to the Area Control List. The Canadian government wants to introduce all amendments at once. Therefore, in practice the list is not applied with regard to Belarus; the trade restrictions have been lifted, but technically this has not yet happened. “It is a matter of time. Perhaps this will happen by the end of the year,” the ambassador said.

He noted that the trade between Belarus and Canada increased by 25% in 2016 and amounted to slightly less than CAD100 million. This means that there is a huge potential, and we are exploring the areas where we could build stronger and more fruitful relations with Belarus, Ambassador Stephen de Boer said.