Republic

The intention to develop cooperation with Belarus is attested to by a decision of the Government of Sweden to open a full-fledged diplomatic mission in Belarus in 2008 (currently there is only Section Office in Minsk of the Swedish embassy in Moscow). In an interview to BelTA Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to the Kingdom of Sweden Andrei Grinkevich called the decision of Sweden as the most important event in the political dialogue between the two countries in 2007. “This political sign shows that Belarus is among the countries Sweden thinks it is important to maintain relations with,” the diplomat said. In support of his words he cited the statement of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden which stresses that Sweden has been working on establishing closer relations between Belarus and the European Union both on the bilateral level and within the framework of international organisations. Andrei Grinkevich is confident that the opening of the embassy of Sweden to Belarus will give a serious impetus to the all-round bilateral cooperation. Andrei Grinkevich believes, a visit of the head of the Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Mats Staffansson, to Minsk in October 2007 was an important event in the Belarusian-Swedish relations. During the talks in the Foreign Ministry of Belarus the sides discussed the urgent issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Belarus and Sweden have been developing inter-parliamentary contacts, exchanging opinions during various international forums including the sessions of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. In 2007, a delegation of Belarusian women-politicians went to Sweden. During the meetings in the Swedish parliament the sides confirmed the interest to develop interparliamentary links. Andrei Grinkevich characterized the relations between Belarus and Sweden as dynamic and pragmatic. According to him, in 2007 the cooperation was robust and efficient almost in all areas.