GRODNO, 19 April (BelTA) - Polish investors can participate in the development of tourist infrastructure in Grodno Oblast, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland to Belarus Konrad Pawlik said during a meeting with Chairman of the Grodno Oblast Executive Committee Vladimir Kravtsov, BelTA has learned.
Ambassador Konrad Pawlik also spoke about the visa-free entry to Belarus and a growing interest among Polish tourists in the neighboring country.
“We need to maximize this opportunity. We stand ready to assist in finding partners, investors for the projects to develop tourist infrastructure in the region,” Ambassador Konrad Pawlik said. He stressed that the Polish business is 10th in terms of the volume of investments in Belarus but can become 6th or 7th in the next several years.
“For the past six months since the visa-free entry to Grodno Oblast was launched, the region has welcomed nearly 10,000 visitors. More than 3,000 of them were Polish citizens. We have prepared a draft proposal to extend the free-entry area, to introduce new crossing points, in particular through the railway station in Grodno. We see that direct rail service will be interesting for visa-free tourists,” said Vladimir Kravtsov. He also noted that the issue of including the airport into the free-trade zone is in the works. For his part, Konrad Pawlik noted that air service can be established between Polish cities and Grodno, and also several other large cities of Belarus. This work is underway.
The parties also discussed the development of the checkpoints on the Belarusian-Polish border, including the possibility of setting up a new crossing point Sofievo-Lipchany, which will shorten a travel between Grodno and Polish Augustow and create new tourist routes.
“Cooperation between Grodno Oblast and Podlaskie region sets the pace for all interregional relations. The business communities cooperate actively. Your region is interesting for the Polish business,” Konrad Pawlik said. He stressed that the cooperation is not limited to purely economic relations: cultural, educational and tourist projects are underway. For example, the region together with Polish partners has submitted over 120 proposals for the cross-border cooperation program Poland-Belarus-Ukraine. Two-thirds of them made through the qualification round. The cooperation in this area should be intensified.
