Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Makei visits Spain

14 June 2017

14-06-2017

On June 13-14, 2017 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, paid a working visit to the Kingdom of Spain.

©Senate of Spain

The Head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry was received by the President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Spain, Pío García-Escudero.

©Senate of Spain

During the meeting, the sides discussed prospects for the development of the Belarusian-Spanish interparliamentary cooperation, parliamentary support of future bilateral projects in trade and economic sphere.

©Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain

During his visit to Spain, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, V.Makei, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain, Alfonso María Dastis. The Ministers reviewed a wide range of aspects of bilateral relations, exchanged views on topical issues on the international agenda, discussed prospects for the development of cooperation between Belarus and the European Union, as well as cooperation within the framework of the UN, the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

©Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain

Heads of delegations signed the Convention between the Republic of Belarus and the Kingdom of Spain on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion regarding taxes on income and capital, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain on bilateral consultations .

V.Makei held a meeting with the State Secretary for Trade of Spain, María Luisa Poncela, during which the parties stressed the interest in further development of the Belarusian-Spanish trade and economic cooperation.

©Spanish Confederation of Industrial Organizations

Following the results of the meeting, the parties signed the Memorandum between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Kingdom of Spain on economic and industrial cooperation, which envisages the creation of a joint Intergovernmental Belarusian-Spanish commission for economic and industrial cooperation.

©Spanish Confederation of Industrial Organizations

The parties agreed to hold the first meeting of the commission in Minsk in Autumn 2017. The meeting will be preceded by work to identify the most promising areas of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

©Spanish Confederation of Industrial Organizations

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus participated in the opening of the III Belarusian-Spanish Business Forum, attended by more than 60 representatives of business circles of Belarus and Spain. V.Makei addressed the participants of the event with a welcoming speech in which he noted the importance of the intensification of mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic sphere between the two countries. The event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain, the Spanish Confederation of Industrial Organizations, the Chamber of Commerce of Spain and the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the Kingdom of Spain.

During the forum, V.Makei met with a number of leading Spanish companies interested in implementing projects in the fields of energy, infrastructure, transport, agriculture, mining and processing of minerals, tourism and others. Agreements have been reached to work out proposals for the implementation of commercial projects in areas of mutual interest.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chair of the Consultative Council for Belarusians Abroad under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, V.Makei, met with representatives of the Belarusian Diaspora living in Spain, took part in the presentation of the collection of poems by Maksim Bahdanovic, published in Belarusian and Spanish.

V.Makei thanked the Belarusian diaspora for the initiative to publish the works of the classic of Belarusian literature and expressed confidence that the publication of the collection will promote the popularization of Belarusian culture in Spain. A number of representatives of the Belarusian diaspora were awarded with diplomas of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus.

V.Makei met with the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Belarus in Alicante, Alfonso Jurado Mesa. Within the framework of the meeting, the assistance of the Honorary Consul in the development of regional ties in the economic and humanitarian spheres was discussed.