Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 13 October (BelTA) – Belarus hopes to sign a trade agreement with the EU sometime in the future, Belarus’ First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Yevdochenko told reporters, BelTA has learned.

“The agreement on commercial dialogue which we have signed today is obviously not the final stop in our trade relations. This document is the first step in the development of a modern and transparent legal framework. In the long term, we would like to sign either a separate trade agreement with the EU or a new partnership and cooperation agreement that would contain a part on trade. I think that we will be working toward this goal together with our European partners, and the signing of such an agreement will become possible sometime in the future,” Andrei Yevdochenko said.

Belarus and the EU announced the resumption of a trade dialogue. The parties will meet twice a year to discuss issues and find solutions.

Head of the EU Delegation in Belarus Andrea Wiktorin noted that such a dialogue will lead to the further improvement of the relations between Belarus and the EU in trade. “An open and trust-based dialogue is the best way to support trade and improve our economic, financial and trade relations. This is consistent with our common interests,” she said.

The EU, according to Andrea Wiktorin, attaches great importance to the development of cooperation with Belarus in all areas, since the country is an immediate neighbor of the EU, and one of the members of the Eastern Partnership Initiative. European companies are interested in trade with Belarus.

Minsk is hosting the first round of the trade dialogue between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission on 13-14 October.