| 3 November 2008 Belarus and Poland are planning to sign an intergovernmental agreement on the rules of movement of people from the frontier regions, minister counselor of the Belarusian Embassy in Poland Vladimir Chushev said at the Regional Belarusian-Pomorskie Economic Forum in Gdansk on November 3. The document will regulate visa-free trips of citizens from the frontier regions of Belarus and Poland within a radius of 30 kilometres. Trips will be made under special permits which will be valid for five years. The sides are also going to sign an interstate treaty on the state border regime. Vladimir Chushev informed that “We have got an idea and we can materialize it by means of signing another intergovernmental agreement on the issue of national visas of Poland to citizens of Belarus.” Belarusians will be able to get the national visa of Poland along with Schengen visa. The categories of citizens entitled to such visas will be determined. As expected, these will be businessmen, culture and education specialists. Vladimir Chushev reminded, Poland reduced the the national visa fees from EUR 35 to EUR 20 on November 1, 2008. Belarus reduced visa fees for Polish citizens to EUR 25 back in December 2007.
Vladimir Chushev told that in 2008, Belarus and Poland held sessions of intergovernmental committees for trade and economic cooperation (in Warsaw in April) and a committee for frontier cooperation (in Brest in July). A session of the committee for historic and cultural heritage took place in Poznan in April. Another two sessions - for sci-tech cooperation and education for ethnic minorities - are scheduled for the end of 2008. Five task groups have been set up within the committee for trade and economic cooperation. They are designed to work out plans of action in different areas, including the regional cooperation. It helps develop business relations and promote Belarusian goods on the Polish market, the Embassy representative underlined. Marshal of Pomorskie Voivodeship Jan Kozlowski said that the economy of the Polish region is developing in two strategic directions which are the East and the Baltic Sea. “Belarus is a key element of the cooperation,” the Marshal underlined. “We are ready to open the Polish market wider for the Belarusian goods,” Vice-Governor of the Pomorskie Voivodeship Michal Owczarczak underlined. It pertains to the transborder cooperation and the improvement of the visa regime. Apart from that, the Polish side would like Belarus to transship its goods through the Baltic ports of Poland.
A memorandum on the Belarus-Pomorskie Regional Forum and a cooperation agreement between the FEZ Vitebsk and the Pomorskie special economic zone have been signed in Gdansk on November 3.
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