Head of Lukashenka’s Administration had no “uncomfortable” questions at Minsk Forum (Photo)
- 5.11.2009, 11:26
Unlike the previous year, a discussion was not planned at the opening of the Minsk Forum, so Uladzimir Makei managed to avoid unpleasant questions.
According to “Nasha Niva”, the head of Lukashenka’s Administration, who opened the forum together with Germany’s ambassador Gebhardt Weiss and chairman of the Eastern Committee of German Industry Professor Mangold, was confident and cheerful.
He said he expects German partners to take active part in privatization. He compared the normalisation of EU–Belarus relations with the fall of the Berlin Wall. He said the last year demonstrated more progress that all years of isolation.
He quoted president of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite, namely her statement on inefficiency of isolation policy, her response to criticism by coordinator of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Andrei Sannikov.
He also quoted Goethe: if one wants to be confident, he shouldn’t hurry, and called to patience.
Makei have become more self-assured and confident in public in comparison with the previous year. His manner of speech resembles Putin, the newspaper notes.
It would be a mistake to estimate the situation in Belarus taking into consideration only political sphere, stability in social and economic sector, low unemployment rate and the state healthcare system should also be taken into account, Makei said.
Belarus hopes the sanctions will be lifted in November. All other decisions will just hinder, he said hastily in a severe tone. Without a pause, he jumped to condemning the stick and carrot policy and favouring for Belarus’s integration without any conditions.
“What is integration? Belarus is interested in loans and investments,” he said and enumerates the institutions able to give loans. At the same time, Belarus doesn’t have an aim to be a full or associated member of the European Union, Makei noted.
He called on to soften the visa regime presenting statistics: in year 2008, the number of visits to the European Union declined by 20 percent in comparison with the year 2007.
He ended with Spengler’s quote about irreversibility, which sounded rather ambiguously.
However, the quotations met no enthusiasm.
13 accredited in Minsk ambassadors and representatives of 21 countries were present at opening of the 12th Minsk Forum, held on November 4–6 in Minsk International Education Center.
The theme of current forum is “Belarus and Eastern Partnership: Prospects and Development in Policy, Economy and Society”. The forum gathers executive officials, scientists, MPs from different European states.
The opening ceremony was attended by ambassadors of Germany and Sweden Gebhardt Weiss and Stefan Eriksson, deputy foreign minister of Lithuania Evaldas Ignatavicius, chairman of the Eastern Committee of German Industry Klaus Mangold.
Three working groups – “Foreign Policy: Belarus as Europe’s Neighbour”, “Economy: New tasks of Economic Policy”, and “Society: New Forms of Intercourse between State and Society” – will function within the frameworks of the forum.
Klaus Mangold supported Makei’s idea of patience. “Every idea must have people behind it. one shouldn’t come here (to Belarus) with own vision,” he said.