Events

MINSK, 27 March (BelTA) – Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei is in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on a visit, BelTA has learned.

According to a tweet by the Belarusian embassy in the UK, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei met with Greg Hands, Minister of State for International Trade in the UK government.

During the meeting the sides discussed trade and economic cooperation and signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in this sphere between the Belarusian and British governments.

Apart from that, Vladimir Makei met with Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Pierre Heilbronn.

The press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BelTA that Vladimir Makei is in the UK on a scheduled working visit. It had taken more than half a year to prepare the visit. The Belarusian minister of foreign affairs is expected to meet with representatives of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the International Trade Department, the British parliament, and members of the royal family. A number of other events have been planned, too. Vladimir Makei has already held negotiations with the management of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which headquarters are located in London. “We intend to publish detailed information about results of the visit once the visit ends tomorrow,” said Dmitry Mironchik, Head of the Information and Digital Diplomacy Office of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Minister of State for Europe and the Americas of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Alan Duncan visited Belarus in September 2017. Alan Duncan met with the head of state. Negotiations were also held with the minister of foreign affairs. The sides stated the constructive nature of the discussions, sketched out ways to further advance cooperation between Belarus and the UK.

The UK has been one of Belarus’ leading economic partners for the last few years. According to the Belarusian embassy in the UK, for the last few years the country has been the third largest buyer of Belarusian products after Russia and Ukraine.