Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov (left) and Lithuanian foreign minister Vygaudas Ušackas take a carriage ride to one of the medieval-era Grand Duchy of Lithuania castles in Belarus on Aug. 25. Photo used courtey of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

LIDA, Belarus — During a trip yesterday to meet his Belarusian counterpart, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Vygaudas Ušackas said cooperation on the issue of travel permits for border residents between the two countries should be intensified.

Since Lithuania joined the Schengen Area, visas for Belarusians to visit Lithuania have become difficult to obtain. In turn, Belarus responded by raising fees on Lithuanian visas to the country. Now residents along the border have difficulty visiting friends and families on the other side, and cross-border business is also more difficult to conduct.

“I hope that after this agreement is signed, cooperation between the two neighbouring countries will expand, people-to-people ties will strengthen and more possibilities for economic cooperation will appear. Our compatriots living on the border with Belarus will be the main beneficiaries of this agreement,” Ušackas said about the issue.

Ušackas added that he also discussed projects about intensifying bilateral relations and cooperation in the areas of culture, museum sites along the historical routes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, joint academic projects, tourism, business and people-to-people ties with Belarusian foreign minister Sergei Martynov. Lithuania and Belarus share a historical past as parts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the large medieval state that stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Ušackas said a Lithuanian-Belarusian business forum on  Sept. 16-17 in Vilnius would strengthen economic cooperation, especially in the area of transport, which is Lithuania’s second largest industry after manufacturing.