Events

MINSK, 20 September (BelTA) - Belarus’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner held a meeting in the United Nations headquarters in New York, BelTA learned from the website of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The sided discussed the cooperation in mitigating the impact of the Chernobyl disaster and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Vladimir Makei noted that Belarus plans to hold a regional conference for national coordinators from Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States in Minsk in early 2018 to exchange experience of SDGs implementation. The Belarusian diplomat invited Achim Steiner to pay a visit Belarus.

The UNDP head, for his part, confirmed the readiness for further cooperation with Belarus on overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. Achim Steiner also expressed interest in further development of cooperation in achieving SDGs.

The Belarusian minister and UNDP Head exchanged views on supporting middle-income countries, discussed the prospects for reforming the UN development system.

The head of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also held a number of bilateral meetings at the UN headquarters. Trade and economic cooperation was discussed during a meeting with Ivica Dacic, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia. The parties also discussed the interaction of the countries in international organizations and the progress in the implementation of the joint projects. The ministers also agreed on a number of joint near-term events.

Bilateral cooperation was in the spotlight of a meeting with Finland’s Foreign Minister Timo Soini. Vladimir Makei informed his Finnish counterpart on the course of the Belarus-Russia army exercise Zapad 2017 having emphasized the transparency and the compliance of the drill with international legal obligations. In addition, the parties exchanged two countries’ views on human rights issues.

On the same day, Vladimir Makei held a meeting with the leadership of the American Jewish Committee. The sided exchanged the views on the matters of preserving and perpetuating the places connected with the history of the Jewish people in Belarus. The topical issues of the international agenda were also discussed. Leadership of the Committee highly appreciated the role of Belarus in the Ukrainian crisis settlement.

The parties expressed interest in strengthening economic contacts. Vladimir Makei invited the leadership of the AJC to visit Belarus in order to study the prospects for economic interaction between the American business community and partners in Belarus.

Belarus’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei took part in the opening of the high-level general debate of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly. On the first day of the high-level discussion, Vladimir Makei took part in an event dedicated to the implementation of the international decade “Water for Sustainable Development”. Vladimir Makei also had a number of working meetings with foreign ministers of the countries of Europe, CIS and other regions.