14 March 2002
Belarusian, Polish sister cities begin forum in Brest

 Representatives from about 100 sister cities in Belarus and Poland gathered in Brest on March 13 for a three-day meeting to discuss prospects of bilateral economic, business and cultural cooperation.
On March 14, following a plenary meeting, representatives of the Belarusian cities of Bobruisk, Zhodino, Orsha, Stolin, Soligorsk, Svetlogorsk, Slutsk, Logoisk, Borisov and Chausy will sign sister city agreements with Lomza, Augustow, Zambrow, Monki, Ostrow Mazowiecka, Ostroleka, Wlodawa, Lukow, Wyszkow, and Minsk Mazowiecki, respectively.
On the same day, the forum participants are expected to pass a final document aimed at boosting bilateral ties. Invited to the meeting have been Belarusian and Polish officials, including Belarusian Prime Minister Gennady Novitsky, Foreign Minister Mikhail Khvostov, the Polish ambassador to Belarus and the Belarusian ambassador to
Poland. The program of the meeting includes visits to the Brest
Fortress (a World War II memorial) and Berestye (an excavation/museum of medieval Brest), as well as to Brest's free economic zone, Kovry Bresta carpet factory, and Ice Palace.
The Belarusian Association of Sister Cities (BASC) plans to organize three more similar forums this year, BASC President Mikhail Pavlov said. The BASC represents 35 Belarusian cities that have 131 partners in 25 countries.