Gotland offers joint projects to Vitebsk

VITEBSK, June 1 (BelTA) – Gotland Country of Sweden is ready to share its new energy-saving technologies which are applied in dolomite production and processing with Vitebsk, governor of the Swedish island Marianne Samuelson said as she met with chairman of the Vitebsk City Council Viktor Nikolaikin. According to Marianne Samuelson, there is a big dolomite processing company on the island. Its specialists are ready to share the new technologies with the Vitebsk-based Dolomit Company. They are also willing to provide assistance in harnessing the heat which is generated in dolomite production. In Gotland this heat is used to provide heating to sports facilities. During the meeting, the governor also expressed the interest in creating a transport and logistic centre in the Vitebsk airport. She also suggested launching a Gotland-Vitebsk-Gotland direct flight, which will help increase the flow of tourists from Sweden to the Vitebsk oblast. Flax production can be another area of mutual interest. According to Marianne Samuelsson, due to historical and cultural peculiarities Gotland is a major consumer of flax fibers. She praised the high quality of Belarusian flax and expressed interest in its supplies to Sweden. Marianne Samuelsson invited Vitebsk business circles to visit the island to work out practical steps to implement these proposals together with the Swedish businessmen. Vitebsk, together with Polotsk and the Miory region, as well as the Daugavpils region of Latvia and Gotland are participants of the Swedish-Belarusian-Latvian project ‘Panorama Dvina Daugava’ which is aimed to develop cultural tourism between the three states. The project is financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Vitebsk and Gotland have a cooperation agreement in the economic and cultural areas.

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