Events

MINSK, 27 September (BelTA) - The honorary consulate of Belarus in Barcelona has been officially opened, BelTA learned from Belarus’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs press service.

Attending the event were Belarus’ Ambassador to France and concurrently to Spain Pavel Latushko, representatives of the Spanish government, local authorities, diplomatic and consular corps.

According to Pavel Latushko, the opening of the honorary consulate will promote the Belarusian-Spanish cooperation and interregional ties in the economic and humanitarian areas and will contribute to the mutual discovery of Spanish and Belarusian culture. The diplomat also noted the significant intensification of the Belarusian-Spanish cooperation over the past years. The countries have exchanged visits at the level of government, signed the agreements on economic cooperation, agreements in the field of justice, tourism, standardization and certification and avoidance of double taxation.

Pavel Latushko called the opening of the Belarusian Embassy in Spain as the most important foreign policy event in the bilateral relations.

The embassy noted that according to Spanish sources about 1,800 Belarusians reside in Catalonia, the autonomous community of Spain. Barcelona is a popular tourist destination for Belarusian citizens. The Belarusian air carrier Belavia carried more than 40,000 passengers from Minsk to Barcelona in 2017. Barcelona hosts 95 embassies and honorary consulates, including the Belarusian consulate. The Honorary Consulate of Belarus has been operating in Alicante since 2015.