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Bilateral Relations Between Belarus and the United States
Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Belarus and the
United States were established on December 28, 1991. In connection with
their 10th anniversary Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus made
an
official statement.
Initial stage of diplomatic relations between Belarus and the United States
made a foundation with significant potential to further spread and widen
cooperation in political, economic and humanitarian spheres. Unfortunately
these opportunities are not exploited fully yet.
Belarusian leader Stanislaw Shushkevitch in July 1993 visited United States
first among leaders of states successor of the dissolved USSR. The US
President Bill Clinton in January 1994 paid a visit to Belarus first after
Russia. In 1995 and 2000 President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko visited
United States in the course of participation in jubilee United Nations
General Assemblies. Aside arrangements in the UN frames President of Belarus
conducted a series of business meetings in New York, Detroit and Chicago.
During these meetings parties discussed a possibilities of development
Belarusian-American cooperation in the sphere of precise machinery,
electronics, agriculture and overcoming aftereffects of catastrophe at
Chernobyl nuclear plant.
A number of visits to the United States of Belarusian Prime Minister
(October 1994), Minister for foreign affairs (1993, 1995, 1996, 1997) and US
Secretary of State to Belarus (1993), exchange of visits by Ministers for
Defense of both countries (1993, 1994) made a basis for further
intergovernmental relations at the highest level.
These highest level contacts proved important milestones in development of
bilateral Belarusian-American relations.
Belarus and United States signed more than twenty intergovernmental
agreements on economic cooperation, fostering banking activities,
investments protection, as well as strategic weapons reduction an
nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, conversion of military
production, scientific and technological cooperation and others.
A state of affairs in Belarusian-American relations nowadays endures a
difficult and ambiguous period. It resulted from reasons of both objective
and subjective. In spite of existing dissimilarities in approaches towards
development stances Belarus is strongly interested in developing
constructive relations with the United States – recognized leader of the
modern world. Belarus is ready for a dialog on wide array of issues while
basing on the principles of equality and mutual respect of both parties and
carefully considering specifics of historical development.
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