Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 22 February (BelTA) – Belarus and Brazil are interested in exploring new cooperation avenues, BelTA learned from the address sent by Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei to Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Serra on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of Belarus-Brazil diplomatic relations.

The message reads that over the course of two and a half decades Belarus and Brazil have made important steps to advance the bilateral relations. The steps included the exchange of diplomatic missions and the waiving of visa requirements, interparliamentary contacts and cultural cooperation. “All of that testifies not only to trust between our countries but also to the interest in taking further the relations and invigorating new avenues of cooperation,” the address reads.

Vladimir Makei underlined that Belarus always considers Brazil as the largest partner in Latin America. “We confirm the readiness to advance tighter relations with your country in politics, education, and culture, and at platforms of international organizations. I am convinced that active trade and economic partnership should be the engine of the bilateral relations,” the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted Vladimir Makei as saying.

In turn, Jose Serra said he hopes that visa-free travels for Belarusians and Brazilians will give an even larger impulse to bilateral cooperation. “In the next few years we have to transform rapprochement in the political dimension into trade and economic results on a matching scale. It would be interesting to activate relations between MERCOSUR and the Eurasian Economic Union. These regional blocs contain strong promises of mutual complementarity,” believes the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs.