On December 12, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The "Lake Land" Euroregion is initiating the resumption of work at the simplified border crossing point "Druya-Piedruja" on the border with Latvia. This was reported to BELTA correspondent by Irina Kozel, Chairperson of the Verkhnedvinsk District Council of Deputies, who presided over the regular meeting of the euroregion, which took place in the Verkhnedvinsk district. With the entry into force of the simplified procedure for mutual travel of residents of the border territories of Belarus and Latvia, contacts between citizens have significantly increased. According to representatives of local authorities, for the convenience of residents and to meet their wishes, it is necessary to resume the operation of the simplified crossing point in Druya. In addition, the participants of the meeting intend to appeal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia with a request to open a permit issuance point for participation in small border traffic in Braslav. Currently, in order to obtain this document, people from remote corners of the Vitebsk region need to travel twice to the Consulate of the Republic of Latvia in Vitebsk: first, to submit documents, and then to receive a response. As Irina Kozel noted, much has been done since the creation of the "Lake Land" Euroregion: international projects in the fields of economy, social sphere, culture, sports and tourism have been implemented, trade relations have been established, and cross-border cooperation has been strengthened. The expansion of mutually beneficial contacts testifies to the efficiency and effectiveness of this large interstate formation. The first provision on the Council for Cross-Border Cooperation of the border regions of Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia was signed on September 4, 1998, in Braslav, and in January 1999, in Ignalina (Lithuania), the council was granted the status of a euroregion. The euroregion includes from the Belarusian side: Braslav, Verkhnedvinsk, Miory, Postavy, Rossony and Glubokoe districts, the city of Polotsk; from the Latvian side, it comprises 15 municipalities, and from the Lithuanian side, seven. The area of the euroregion is almost 22 thousand sq. km, with a population of over half a million people. During the existence of the euroregion, more than a million projects have been implemented in the territories. For example, in the Glubokoe district, bicycle tourist routes were created under the project "Development of a network of bicycle routes in the Baltic Lake Land". Annually, folk art festivals "Dzvina-Daugava-Dvina" are held.-0-

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