MINSK, 7 December (BelTA) – Belarus' interaction with the European Union, including in view of Austria's presidency in the union, was discussed in Vienna, the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told BelTA.
Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Oleg Kravchenko visited Austria on 5-7 December. He took part in an annual conference of the European Union's Eastern Partnership Initiative. This year's conference was held within the framework of Austria's presidency in the Council of the European Union. The conference focused on enhancing the economy in order to create a stronger society and investing in people for the sake of sustainable development.
Oleg Kravchenko took part in the meeting of the heads of the delegations of the partnership states with Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, and Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs Karin Kneissl. The current state and prospects of cooperation of the partnership states with the European Union were discussed.
Oleg Kravchenko met with Alexander Marschik, Head of the Policy Section of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs. Belarusian-Austrian relations and Belarus' interaction with the European Union were discussed.
Oleg Kravchenko met with Franz Wessig, co-chairman of the Belarus-Austria intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation, Director General for External Economic Relations in the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs. The sides summed up intermediate results of fulfilling the agreements reached during the 14th session, which took place in January 2018.
Oleg Kravchenko also met with top officials of several Austrian analytical centers, which study international relations and international security. The state of affairs in the region and the world, prospects of advancing Belarus' interaction with the international analytical community were discussed.
