This year, the Minsk forum marks its 20th anniversary. To participate in this prestigious discussion platform, for the first time in two decades, the Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany arrived in Belarus. However, the first item on the agenda of the minister was a meeting with the President.
Positive dynamics in political relations are reflected in the economy as well. Last year, Germany took the fourth place in terms of the turnover, which exceeded 2 billion dollars. This year, the mutual trade has grown by more than 25%. In Belarus, there are more than 300 enterprises with German capital and 90 representative offices of various companies.
Sigmar Gabriel, the Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany: "The relations between our countries experienced really terrible times at some point, and today both states are committed to peace. Perhaps it is precisely this fact that such a small state with a population of 10 million who is located in the neighborhood of large countries, after going through such historical experience, is most likely to play the role of an intermediary in the event of conflicts in other countries. That is why Minsk has become such an excellent platform for negotiations in the Norman Four format. You are absolutely right when you say that we managed to prevent a war then, and we very much hope that Minsk will continue to play such an important role."
