Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Makei meets the CEI Secretary General

03-04-2019

On April 3, 2019 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, met with the Secretary General of the Central European Initiative (CEI), Roberto Antonione.

Background Information: CEI is a regional organization, created in 1989 to promote European integration and regional cooperation. Currently, the CEI consists of 17 states. The Republic of Belarus has been a member of the Organization since 1996. In 2017, the Republic of Belarus took over the Presidency of the Central European Initiative.

During the meeting, the sides discussed current issues on the agenda of the Central European Initiative, ways to improve the effectiveness of the organization, priority areas for cooperation in the context of the upcoming CEI 30th Anniversary.

The parties exchanged views on the prospects for expanding the participation of representatives of Belarus in the project activities of the CEI.

In the framework of the visit of CEI delegation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus hosted a seminar dedicated to the ways to attract funds from CEI and EU international technical assistance programmes. Representatives of the CEI Secretariat, Belarusian Foreign Ministry and the European Union International Technical Assistance Centre in Belarus presented the participants with the information on the relevant financial instruments, programs and the criteria for submitting project applications.

The program of the visit of R.Antonione also includes meetings in the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, as well as with the leadership of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the State Committee on Science and Technology.