1 December, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. More than 250,000 people will be able to use simplified border crossing permits between Belarus and Latvia. This was announced to journalists today after the signing ceremony of the protocol on the exchange of written notifications on the completion of internal procedures necessary for the entry into force of the agreement on the simplified procedure for mutual travel of residents of border territories of Belarus and Latvia, by the Ambassador of Belarus to Latvia, Alexander Gerasimenko, BELTA correspondent reports. According to preliminary data, from the Belarusian side, more than 70,000 people will be included in the lists of residents of border territories eligible for relevant permits, and from the Latvian side - over 180,000. According to the Ambassador of Latvia to Belarus, Mikhail Popkovs, the parties have agreed to exchange lists within a month. Another month will be needed to technically re-equip the consulates of Latvia in Vitebsk and Belarus in Daugavpils, where residents of border territories will receive permits for visa-free border crossing. The permit from the Latvian side will be a passport insert, similar to the currently issued visa. The full text of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Republic of Latvia on the simplified procedure for mutual travel of residents of border territories of the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Latvia dated August 23, 2010, can be found publicly available on the Internet. The issuance of simplified border crossing permits will begin at the General Consulate of Belarus in Daugavpils and the Consulate of Latvia in Vitebsk from February 1, 2012. -0-

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