The Belarusian consultations were attended by more than 100 representatives of the legislative branch, government authorities, business structures, civil society. A range of topics was offered for the discussion including the EaP cooperation reinforcement as the key issue.
The event was opened by Oleg Kravchenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, and Dirk Shuebel, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Belarus.
“The Republic of Belarus and the European Union maintain active and regular contacts on integrated management of borders, energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, entrepreneurship promotion, finances and environmental conservation”, mentioned Dirk Shuebel. “Indeed, it is easier to name the areas where Belarus and the EU have not collaborated yet, where we have not searched for new challenges and pursued common goals”.
The consultations will be held in all Eastern Partnership countries by 31 October 2019. All stakeholders are also invited to submit their proposals by the above-mentioned deadline. A document will be prepared on the basis of the received inputs to outline the proposed new framework of the Eastern Partnership after the year 2020.