MINSK, 5 February (BelTA) – A delegation of the Belarusian parliament led by Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich will visit Poland on 11-14 February. Negotiations with Poland President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki are supposed to take place. The itinerary of the visit was discussed as Mikhail Myasnikovich met with Ambassador of Poland to Belarus Artur Michalski on 5 February, the press service of the upper chamber of the Belarusian parliament told BelTA.
Negotiations with the speakers of the upper and lower chambers of the Polish parliament Stanislaw Karczewski and Marek Kuchcinski are expected to take place. Mikhail Myasnikovich is also expected to meet with Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacek Czaputowicz. The negotiations at the high and top levels will focus on topical aspects on the bilateral agenda: trade, economic, and investment cooperation, interaction in education, science, culture, and other spheres of mutual interest. Close attention will be paid to the role of the parliamentary dimension in enhancing Belarus-Poland relations. A Belarusian-Polish social security agreement is supposed to be signed.
While in Poland Mikhail Myasnikovich is expected to visit the Polish Academy of Sciences. Apart from that, the head of the upper chamber of the Belarusian parliament will travel to Bialystok where he will meet with representatives of the Belarusian national minority in Poland and top officials of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Mikhail Myasnikovich will also visit the Medical University of Bialystok.
Mikhail Myasnikovich noted during the meeting with the Polish ambassador that the Belarusian side attached much importance to the forthcoming visit. He said he hoped it would be constructive and substantial. “We would like the proposals and ideas that will be discussed to benefit the bilateral relations,” stressed Mikhail Myasnikovich. He went on saying that the relations had been complicated at times, however, there had been no fundamental arguments and differences of opinion. “At the same time we are neighbors and our relations might have been more dynamic and systemic. I would like to hear the opinion of the Polish side about it,” he said.
The ambassador said he was confident that the visit would contribute to advancing Belarus-Poland cooperation to new heights. “The potential for advancing Belarus-Poland partnership is large. The forthcoming visit represents a good opportunity for discussing the existing proposals and initiatives,” Artur Michalski was convinced.
In 2018 Belarus-Poland trade totaled $2.5 billion in cost terms, 5.3% up from 2017. Belarus' export to Poland was close to $1.3 billion, with import from Poland at $1.2 billion. Belarus secured a foreign trade surplus of $138.2 million. In January-September 2018 Belarus received $7.7 billion in foreign investments, including $342.1 million from Poland.
