MINSK, 12 March (BelTA) – Belarus emphasized the importance of working out the UN long-term strategy to support sustainable development of middle-income countries (MICs), Belarus’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations Valentin Rybakov said during the meeting of the Like-Minded Group of Supporters of Middle-Income Countries with UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin in the UN headquarters in New York on 8 March, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The meeting was held as part of the Roadmap of Activities of the Group on MICs, adopted at the second Ministerial Meeting in New York in September 2017. The parties exchanged views on ways to expand interaction of the UN system with MICs and discussed an appointment of a focal point on MICs in the UN Secretariat, which had been previously initiated by Belarus and supported by the Secretary-General during a meeting with the Group in January 2018.
The Belarusian diplomat called for a more systematic role for the UN in assisting this category of countries, noting the importance to elaborate a long-term UN strategy aimed at facilitating sustainable development in MICs.