Belarus-Lithuania relations are on the mend

Despite the unchanging situation with human rights in Belarus, Lithuania is expanding economic and diplomatic cooperation with the Belarusian government in the context of better EU-Belarus relations.

Office of the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Belarus has recently opened in Klaipeda. The Consulate is to be headed by the Krynitsa association chairman of Klaipeda Belarusians Mikalai Lohvin.

"I will do the same thing as in Krynitsa," Belsat quotes the honorary consul with a reference to Vakarų ekspresas."Our community is more focused on cultural activities, we are not engaged in politics. We have a music band, participate in various cultural activities, organize trips to Belarus."

Lohvin was born in Belarus, in 1982 he came to Klaipeda for work. He served in the Navy. Now he is a citizen of Lithuania, he is an independent expert at the company Ships and People, press service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry reports.

The event was attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Aliaksandr Huryanau.

On March 6 Huryanau met with the leadership of Klaipeda port – a strategic partner of Belarus, with the share of the Belarusian goods being about a third of all the port cargo handling.

On Wednesday, March 4, Aliaksandr Huryanau represented Minsk at the economic consultations between Belarus and Lithuania in Vilnius, the press service of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry reported. Position of Vilnius was voiced by Vice Foreign Minister Rolandas Kriščiūnas.

At the meeting, they discussed the issues of transport and transit, bilateral trade and investment cooperation. Vice-Ministers praised the economic relations and expressed interest in further development of constructive relations.

Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the two states discussed the future meeting of the intergovernmental commission, which will be held this year in our country, as well as the Belarusian-Lithuanian business forum to be held in June in the Lithuanian Marijampolė.

Let us recall that the “thaw” in Belarus-Lithuania relations dates from February 2014, when Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makei visited Vilnius.

After that on May 13 last year in Vilnius, consultations were held between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania and Belarus. Our country was represented by Deputy Minister Alena Kupchyna.

At the end of July 2014, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Linas Linkevičius, visited Minsk, where he met with Prime Minister Mikhail Miasnikovich and his colleague Uladzimir Makei.

This year, on February 6, with the participation of the Foreign Ministry of Lithuania representative Andrius Pulokasa the first visa centers opened in Minsk, Homel, Hrodna and Brest.

The improvement of relations between the official Minsk and official Vilnius has been happening in the context of considering the improvement of Belarus-EU relations. According to RFE/RL, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said after EU foreign ministerial talks in Riga on March 7 that "we see the opportunity to broaden and deepen relations with Belarus."