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Switzerland has no plans to open embassy in Minsk, ambassador says

Switzerland has no plans to open an embassy in Minsk, the newly appointed Swiss ambassador to Belarus, Benedict de Cerjat, said in an interview with BelaPAN.

On July 1, the Swiss Consulate General in Minsk and the Swiss Office for Cooperation were reorganized into the Minsk office of the Swiss embassy in Poland. Mr. de Cerjat was appointed as Swiss ambassador to Poland and Belarus. On Monday, he presented his credentials to Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

The ambassador said that no additional staff would be recruited in Switzerland for the embassy's Minsk office, but the office would still have more opportunities to carry out different projects in Belarus also in the humanitarian sphere.

He said that he would travel to Belarus on a regular basis to assist the implementation of humanitarian projects and watch the use of funds earmarked by the Swiss government.

Established in 2001, the Swiss Office for Cooperation had been providing assistance to Belarus in Chernobyl relief under the Swiss government's program for the country. Between 2001 and 2006, it spent around $10 million on Chernobyl relief projects carried out mainly in the Homyel and Mahilyow regions. The Swiss government earmarked $3 million for such projects this year.

The Consulate General in Minsk had started operation in 1996, issuing around 4,000 visas to Belarusian businesspeople and tourists every year.

Mr. Cerjat said that personal contacts between the two nations should increase so that the Belarusian and Swiss people could learn more about each other.

According to him, around 80 percent of visa requests submitted by Belarusians are granted. In 2008 or 2009, Switzerland is set to join the Schengen zone and will then issue Schengen visas to Belarusians.