Opinions & Interviews

According to Vladimir Kravtsov, during the first international cultural expo of the Silk Road in the city of Dunhuang in 2016 agreements were made in favor of building a cultural bridge for the sake of more active interaction in this sphere in addition to building the Silk Road Economic Belt. “It was suggested that Grodno can be a symbolical cultural gateway of this road. Today’s events heralded the start of development of this idea,” said the Grodno Oblast Governor.

On 21 January the Grodno Oblast Governor took part in the opening ceremony of an exhibition by the Grodno painter Marina Elyashevich, who specializes in painting in Chinese style. A concert of the state song and dance ensemble of China’s Gansu Province also took place in Grodno. The events were arranged to celebrate the 25^th anniversary since the establishment of Belarus-China diplomatic relations and can be viewed as kind of a Chinese Culture Day in Grodno. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Belarus Cui Qiming attended the events.

A plan for future work was sketched out. “A lot of cultural events will be held here and in China. We are going to arrange mutual visits for music collectives, joint art projects, and participation in events of the Belarusian culture center that will be opened in China in 2017. Chinese culture will be presented in a special manner during the next Belarusian festival of national cultures in Grodno,” said Vladimir Kravtsov.

The Grodno Oblast Governor met with China Ambassador Cui Qiming for negotiations on 21 January. Plans concerning future cooperation in various spheres were discussed. Two Chinese projects are being implemented in Grodno now — the reconstruction of the Grodno Hotel to make a hotel and entertainment complex and the establishment of a traditional Chinese medicine center. A waste-processing factory near Grodno has been commissioned. It was built and equipped by a Chinese company. A presentation of the factory with the ambassador attending is supposed to take place soon. Prospects of implementing new projects in the free economic zone Grodnoinvest and the development of ties with concrete Chinese cities were discussed.