The opening of the Swedish embassy in Minsk in the second half of 2008 attests to the desire of Sweden to develop all-round cooperation with Belarus, Mr Stefan Eriksson, the head of the Minsk Section Office of the Swedish Embassy in Moscow, told BelTA. He praised the interaction between Belarus and Sweden, for example, in trade and economic, humanitarian, cultural and scientific areas and expressed confidence that the opening of the embassy will give an impetus to the development of cooperation in all areas. The opening of the embassy to Belarus will also speed up the visa issue procedures for travelers from Belarus as the decision on visa issuing is taken in the Swedish embassy in Moscow. Belarus has been notified about the plans to open the embassy in Minsk. The ambassador of Sweden to Belarus has not bee appointed yet, Mr Stefan Eriksson said. The diplomatic relations between the Republic of Belarus and the Kingdom of Sweden were established in January 1992. The Belarusian embassy to Stockholm opened in November 1999. An honorary consulate of Sweden in Minsk was inaugurated in May 2000. A Section Office in Minsk of the Swedish Embassy in Moscow was opened on November 11, 2003.