Last updated in October 2009
Political relations
German-Belarusian relations were initially promising following the country’s independence in 1991. Until the mid-1990s, there was a lively exchange of visitors, including numerous ministers from both countries. However, relations with the EU countries – including Germany – deteriorated increasingly owing to the domestic developments in Belarus after President Lukashenko took office. These eventually led to the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council’s decision of 15 September 1997 to restrict political relations with Belarus until the country’s leadership returned to democracy and the rule of law. The German Bundestag has also made repeated calls to this effect.
Germany and its European partners support Belarus’s transition to democracy and a market economy by engaging in dialogue with the country’s government and opposition. In July 2008, a delegation of the German Bundestag’s Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid was in Minsk for talks with the government and the opposition.
The decisions of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council of 13 October 2008 opened the door for a new phase in the West’s cooperation with Belarus. The ban on contacts at ministerial level and higher was lifted and the visa blacklist was, with a few exceptions, suspended for six months. These decisions reflect the expectations for further democratic change as well as the conditions for normal political contacts. Belarusian Foreign Minister Martynov’s visit to Berlin on 11 February 2009 and his talks with Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier ushered in a new phase in bilateral relations.
Economic relations
In 2008, Germany remained Belarus’ second most important Western trading partner, after the Netherlands, on account of its energy imports. In 2008, the volume of bilateral trade grew by 24 per cent compared with the previous year, to USD 3.6 billion. However, this performance is unlikely to be repeated in 2009, given the global economic and financial crisis.
Belarus’ principal exports to Germany are textiles, wood and wood products, medical equipment, chemical products, tractors and optical products. The main imports are capital goods, machinery and plant, chemical products and motor vehicles. Despite continuing economic and administrative difficulties, some 360 German companies are currently operating in Belarus. Germany is the country’s fourth-largest foreign investor, with a share of just under 4.1 per cent in overall foreign investment totalling USD 93.7 million. German business is represented in Minsk by an office of the Association of Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), which was officially opened in 2001.
In addition to trade and investment activity, Germany is also supporting the transition process in Belarus. Economic consultancy projects and projects to promote small and medium-sized businesses are priorities in the Belarus development programme, which was launched by the German Government in 2002 and entered a new programme phase as of October 2007.
Cultural relations
Cultural relations between Belarus and Germany are founded on the cultural agreement signed in 1994. Cooperation focuses on education and science, promotion of the German language, music, theatre and exhibitions. The Goethe Institute in Minsk, which was established in 1993, has a particularly important role to play here. Numerous German institutions (including the German Academic Exchange Service, the German Research Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation) support academic projects in Belarus.
The Institute for German Studies, established in 1998 in Minsk, offers German courses, organizes colloquia and has the largest German-language specialist library in Belarus. In 2003, the German Academic Exchange Service opened an information centre in Minsk. In the school sector, the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA) and the Goethe Institute are active in Belarus as part of the “Schools: Partners for the Future” initiative. The German-Belarussian Johannes Rau International Education Centre (IBB) in Minsk organizes various civil-society-oriented education programmes and exchanges.
The traditional highlight of German cultural interchange with Belarus is the German Culture Week, which is co-organized by German cultural and educational organizations and their Belarusian partners and is invariably well received. The sixth German Weeks are being held from late September to November 2009 under the patronage of the German Embassy in Minsk.
The 2007 Year of German Culture, entitled Moments of Culture 2007: Four Seasons of German Culture, was held in Minsk and the provinces and featured numerous events ranging from classical music concerts to fashion shows. In 2008/2009, the “Organ Moments 2008/2009” festival was held at venues across Belarus under the auspices of the German Embassy in Minsk.
Civil society engagement
Relations between Germany and Belarus are close at the level of civil society. Several hundred private German initiatives are providing humanitarian aid to help ease the suffering caused by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.
Numerous other German non-governmental organizations (NGOs) work for reconciliation with Belarus, which suffered severely under the last century’s two world wars.
A third focus of the work of many German initiatives is providing assistance in developing democratic institutions and the rule of law, economic and scientific cooperation and cooperation in culture and education. Also of importance for overall relations are the approximately 20 German-Belarusian town-twinning arrangements. The German government also supports German civil-society efforts through the Belarus development programme, which was launched in 2002.
