Today, the Belarusian President held a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor and Federal Foreign Minister of Germany. Alexander Lukashenko noted that the countries are opening a new page in bilateral relations.
This is Sigmar Gabriel’s first visit to Belarus. Today, they discussed a wide range of issues, including the development of political and economic interaction between the two countries, as well as further prospects and the international agenda. The Belarusian President particularly noted the contribution of Germany in the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
Sigmar Gabriel, the Vice-Chancellor and Federal Foreign Minister 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."
This year, Belarus and Germany celebrate the 25th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. Positive dynamics in political relations are reflected in the economy. 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 over 300 enterprises with German capital and 90 representative offices of various companies.
