| 22 June 2009 Belarus and the EU sharply need to conclude a basic agreement on cooperation, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Martynov told journalists, according to a BELTA reporter. According to the Minister, there is still no framework cooperation document in relations between Belarus and the European Union. The Belarus-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement was signed during President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s visit to Brussels in 1995. However, it is still not ratified by the EU Member states. A provisional trade agreement was signed in 1996, but it also failed to take effect. “The Belarusian party deems it right to talk on ratification of the partnership and cooperation agreement after giving effect to the provisional trade agreement”, the foreign political agency chief said. The EU’s Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner in turn appraised her first visit to Belarus as quite fruitful and of historical value. “I came here to see the potential Belarus has for promotion of democracy. I hope my visit will be a good start for a new era in relations between your country and the European Union”, she stated adding that “it is important to have all existing agreements fulfilled in practice”. According to Benita Ferrero-Waldner, during her talk with Aleksandr Lukashenko, which lasted about 2.5 hours, they discussed all details of Belarus-EU cooperation. During her meetings with the country’s leaders, the EU Commissioner considered prospects of the country’s involvement in the Eastern Partnership. “I see Belarus having a very serious approach to a multilateral dimension of the Eastern Partnership”, Ferrero-Waldner said. “The initiative is a good chance for Belarus to develop fruitful contacts with the political world of European countries”, she added. Besides, the parties mentioned further financing for Belarusian economic development by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and other financial mechanisms. Ferrero-Waldner reminded journalists that she “had brought to Minsk a decision on allocation of an assistance package of €10 m from the European Commission budget for the improvement of food safety in Belarus”. “This step opens new opportunities for Belarus to export its goods to the West”, she emphasized.
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