Opinions & Interviews

Kurz: Belarus and Austria have huge potential for cooperation

MINSK, 1 April (BelTA) – There is a great potential to step up cooperation between Belarus and Austria, Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria said in an interview to the ONT TV channel, BelTA has learned.

“I am confident that Belarus and Austria have a huge potential for cooperation. It is not just about developing political contacts. It is also about close economic cooperation. More than 100 Austrian companies successfully operate in Belarus. Austria goes second in terms of investment in your country. We need to use every opportunity to develop all-round cooperation,” said Sebastian Kurz.

He considers the Belarusian market to be very attractive for European companies.

In turn, Belarus’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said that there are plans to discuss new projects of mutually beneficial cooperation with the Austrian business community in the near future. According to him, the two countries have maintained close trade and economic relations since the Soviet times. There are 83 enterprises with the Austrian capital (48 joint ventures and 35 foreign firms), as well as 20 representative offices of Austrian organizations in Belarus.

“We have agreed that in the near future we will discuss with the representatives of the Austrian business community new promising projects that can be implemented in Belarus,” said Vladimir Makei.

The minister added that the dynamic development of trade and economic cooperation would not have been possible without a certain political will and emphasized the constructive position of the Austrian leadership towards Belarus. “We ask only for an objective assessment of the situation inside the country and around it. We are grateful to the Austrian authorities for the understanding that we need to align the possible with the desirable,” said Vladimir Makei.

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