Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 16 November (BelTA) – The talks on Belarus’ accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be on the agenda of the Minsk Forum 2017: Belarus, Germany, and the EU: Eastern Partnership, Economic Relations, and Civil Society, chairman of the forum Rainer Lindner told the media on 16 November, BelTA has learned.

“Anna Varyanik, a WTO representative, is expected to partake in the Minsk Forum. She is coming to Minsk from Geneva specifically to attend the forum. Belarus’ accession to the WTO will become a matter of special importance for her,” Rainer Lindner said.

The forum will see such speakers as German Foreign Minister, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel and Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei. “They are set to talk about topical matters of bilateral relations. Bearing in mind next week’s EaP summit in Brussels, they will also touch upon Belarus-EU relations and Belarus’ role in the Eastern Partnership,” Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Belarus Peter Dettmar noted.

Participants of the 15th Minsk Forum will watch an address by Helga Schmid, Secretary General of the European External Action Service.

The Minsk Forum was first held in the Belarusian capital in 1997. After a six-year hiatus, it was resumed in 2016.