MINSK, 24 November (BelTA) - Israel intends to strengthen cultural ties with Belarus, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to Belarus Alex Goldman-Shayman, who presented his credentials to Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, told the media on 24 November, BelTA has learned.
He sees further development of cultural contacts as one of the important tasks of his diplomatic activity. “As Ambassador, I intend to strengthen the infrastructure on which we will continue to build relations between Israel and Belarus in all the areas. This is the promotion of cultural relations, and, of course, our common heritage, Holocaust memory, which we want to strengthen,” the ambassador said.
Alex Goldman-Shayman also mentioned other areas of cooperation, placing the focus on the economic sector and mutual trade.
He stressed the interest in increasing tourist exchange, especially given the visa-waiver program introduced between Belarus and Israel in 2015. “We are interested in increasing the number of tourists from Belarus to Israel, and there are Israelis who want to come, see your country and visit places where our leaders were born and lived. We are talking in particular about Belarusian native Shimon Peres, who was Prime Minister of Israel in 1984-1986 and 1995-1996, and President of Israel from 2007 to 2014. We also can name Belarusian native Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, who revived Hebrew in Israel as a modern spoken language.”
The ambassador stressed that negotiations are currently underway to implement tourist projects on the birth places in Belarus, which later became well-known for Israelis.
“Israel values relations with Belarus,” the diplomat added.
