MINSK, 29 January (BelTA) – Ways to strengthen regional ties and develop cross-border cooperation were discussed at the meetings of Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Anatoly Isachenko with representatives of Poland's regional and local authorities, BelTA learned from the press service of the upper house of Belarusian Parliament.
During his trip to Poland on 27-28 January the vice speaker visited Podlasie and Silesia provinces. “Anatoly Isachenko talked over cooperation at the regional level with Podlasie Province Governor Bohdan Paszkowski and Podlasie Province Marshal Artur Kosicki. The parties also discussed the development of cross-border cooperation between the two countries,” the press service said.
“Taking into account the fact that Podlasie Province is home to a big number of Belarusians (about 38,000 people), the parties considered possibilities to support the Belarusian culture and language in the region,” the press service said. Attending the meeting was Belarus' Ambassador to Poland Vladimir Chushev and Consul General of Belarus to Bialystok Alla Fedorova.
The deputy chairman of the Council of the Republic visited the village of Zaleszany in Podlasie Province to lay a wreath at the monuments to the Belarusians killed by the unit of Romuald Rice (Bury) in 1946. In the town of Hajnowka Anatoly Isachenko laid flowers at the monument to Soviet soldiers, visited the museum and the center of Belarusian culture. “The vice-speaker took part in the soil handing ceremony for the crypt of the All Saints Church. The soil will be placed at the church during the international campaign To the Glory of the Shared Victory," said the press service of the Council of the Republic. The events in Zaleshany and Hajnowka were also attended by Head of the All Saints Church Archpriest Fyodor Powny, heads of Belarusian foreign institutions in Poland, local authorities, the Belarusian national minority, and local residents.
While in Silesia Province, Anatoly Isachenko met with Belarus' Honorary Consul in Katowice Marek Rasinski and local business representatives to discuss ways to expand interregional cooperation in trade and economy between the two countries.
