Pragmatic Approach

He said, Belarus is happy about "the spirit" of relations with Austria because it is governed by a pragmatic and mutually beneficial approach. "It is this business-like and sensible, not politicised, approach that bears fruit," Alexander Mikhnevich said. "Therefore, Austria is one of Belarus` most prospective and interesting partners today especially in terms of approaches and investment plans." Richard Schenz, head of the Austrian delegation, vice-president of the Federal Chamber of Economy and consultant for investment projects of the Austrian government, called the relations between the two states as "very good" and noted that Austria is aimed at "a more intensive cooperation."

This autumn Belarus plans to hold a Day of Belarus in Austria and invite business circles to attend the event.

The visit is expected to discuss partnership in the field of state-of-the-art telecommunication technologies for constructing a mobile communications network, the implementation of the project to build a blood plasma-processing plant in Belarus, cooperation prospects in the development of automatic systems of dispatch control over power circuits and application of ecological technologies. Besides, other lines of bilateral cooperation are to be considered.

Actually, in January-March 2005 the Belarus-Austria trade turnover grew 27% bringing the total to $19 million as against the same period last year. According to the 2005 results, Austria is 15th on the list of European partners having trading relations with Belarus.

Tatyana Vlasovets