Events

Belarusian diaspora in Poland invited to assist expansion of bilateral ties

Photo courtesy of Belarus' embassy in Poland

MINSK, 15 February (BelTA) – Belarus’ parliamentary delegation led by Chairman of the Council of the Republic Mikhail Myasnikovich paid a visit to Bialystok on 14 February as part of the official visit to Poland and met with representatives of the Belarusian diaspora there, BelTA learned from the press service of the Council of the Republic.

Greeting representatives of the diaspora, Mikhail Myasnikovich said that cooperation of the Belarusian state with the Belarusians living abroad has recently gained momentum. The corresponding law has been passed. A consultative council has been set up at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A working group on Belarusians living abroad is operational at the National Assembly.

There are about 3 million Belarusians living abroad. Of them 48,000 live in Poland, according to the previous census. “Belarus is grateful for your organization of wonderful events that have become widely known and popular. Among them is the Belarusian song festival, the Path to Reciprocity conference, the Kupalye festival, Discover Belarus contest,” Mikhail Myasnikovich said.

The chairman of the Council of the Republic called for further expansion of relations between the countries. “Belarus and Poland may have different views, but I am confident that we need to focus on the main thing, on what unites us. Modern Belarus is a stable and peaceful European country. We have been consistently building a state for the people. We are doing our best to make our own contribution to regional security. Today we are developing an IT country, occupying high places in various world rankings. We are proud of our world-famous industrial brands, Belarusian winners at the Olympics and international beauty pageants. We are gearing up to host the 2nd European Games in June 2019,” he said.

“We are interested in the participation of the Belarusians of Podlasie in constructive cooperation for the benefit of the many-million Belarusian nation. Your help is very useful. Belarus, for its part, will help the Belarusians of Poland in maintaining and developing traditions, culture and language,” Mikhail Myasnikovich added, expressing gratitude to the diaspora for work done to preserve national identity.

Ahead of the meeting with the diaspora the parliamentary delegation paid tribute to the memory of those killed at the monument in the village of Zaleszany. The chairman of the Council of the Republic said that the devastating wars and conflicts of the past century taught Belarusians to do everything possible to maintain peace and tranquility, develop dialogue and interaction, and prevent confrontation.

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