Events

12 Jul 2022

Ambrazevich takes part in political forum on sustainable development in New York

An archive photo

MINSK, 12 July (BelTA) – Belarus’ Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yuri Ambrazevich took part by videoconference in the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York. The forum will be running till 18 July, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The theme for the 2022 forum was “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. In his speech, the deputy foreign minister noted that the coronavirus pandemic became a serious test for each state separately and for international cooperation as a whole. According to Yuri Ambrazevich, the main lesson learned from the pandemic is the need for each nation to build a strong, sovereign and independent state, responsible and effective in ensuring the needs and rights of people, including the right of any person to affordable and adequate medical care.

The deputy foreign minister emphasized that it is a sovereign state with effective public administration institutions, and not external institutions and mechanisms, that is the most effective way to ensure a country’s sustainable development.

Yuri Ambrazevich drew attention to the fact that international cooperation should complement the capabilities of national states that voluntarily support the concept of shared responsibility for problems and challenges that go beyond national borders, and be implemented in the form of voluntary mutually beneficial international cooperation on the principles of sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs. The deputy foreign minister also suggested that the 2023 political forum should assess the impact of unilateral sanctions on implementation of sustainable development goals.

Yuri Ambrazevich noted that the SDGs should not remain on paper. In his recent address to Secretary-General António Guterres, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko called for “a global and defining process on security issues with the participation of all leading international players in the spirit of San Francisco. This process should result in clear and transparent agreements on the rules of the new world order, which will provide security guarantees to all members of the international community for the foreseeable future.”