Opinions & Interviews

Belarus’ interest in developing local self-government noted

MINSK, 29 April (BelTA) – Belarus demonstrates an interest in the development of local self-government. The statement was made by President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe Anders Knape on 29 April, BelTA has learned. He took part in a roundtable session on topical aspects of local self-government within the framework of the Council on interaction of local self-government bodies under the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus.

Anders Knape said: “While in Belarus we see how much the local regional authorities are interested in developing and bolstering this sphere. We’ve already had multiple fruitful discussions at the level of the Council of the Republic and the country’s leadership. Today we’ve seen how much the Belarus president is dedicated to and intent on developing and enhancing the sphere of local regional authorities. We also believe that more vigorous cooperation in this area will give many new opportunities both to the country’s leadership and to people. Because thanks to the development of the sphere of local regional authorities we will be able to improve the population’s involvement in decision making.”

Anders Knape expressed interest in advancing cooperation with Belarus in the sphere of local self-government. “First of all, we would like to mention the European Local Self-Government Charter, which has been ratified in 47 countries. We hope that some of the provisions will also be implemented in the Belarusian political reality. Apart from that, we are discussing the creation of associations of regional authorities in Belarus. We are preparing working documents and hope that this process will be invigorated. We see certain progress in your country in this direction but a lot still needs to be done. During the visit to Belarus we’ve managed to determine the spheres where we will cooperate and all the necessary directions for further enhancement of our relations,” Anders Knape said.

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