Events

MINSK, 12 April (BelTA) – Belarus’ Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Dapkiunas took part in the meeting of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Chernobyl at the UNDP Headquarters in New York on 11 April 2018, BelTA learned from the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting, Andrei Dapkiunas noted the need to ensure sustainable development in the affected regions and laid out Belarus’ proposals on advancing international cooperation on Chernobyl with the participation of the UN system and interested states. The Belarusian diplomat mentioned the IAEA as the only international organization that currently maintains Chernobyl-related projects for Belarus and urged the WHO, FAO and the UNICEF to engage more actively in project activities in this field.

The deputy minister informed the participants to the meeting about the measures taken by Belarus to promote the social and economic development of the affected regions, noting the unique experience accumulated by Belarus in this field and the country’s readiness to share this experience.

The event organized by the UNDP at the initiative of Belarus reviewed the implementation of the UN General Assembly resolution “Persistent legacy of the Chernobyl disaster” prepared by Belarus’ delegation and adopted in December 2016. The participants to the meeting reviewed the results of the international Chernobyl cooperation over the past year and discussed the proposals for further cooperation in this area in accordance with the Chernobyl resolution.

Belarus’ Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Dapkiunas also met with Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Achim Steiner to discuss the results of the first regional forum of coordinators on Sustainable Development Goals, which was held in Minsk in February 2018, and agreed to continue the joint efforts to help Belarus achieve the sustainable development goals.

The UNDP has been operating in Belarus since 1992. The fifth UNDP country program for Belarus for the period 2016-2020 with a total funding of $82 million is currently in effect. In 2017 the funds disbursed through UNDP for the implementation of technical assistance projects amounted to $9.25 million.