Press releases

MINSK, 13 September (BelTA) – The leadership and members of foreign diplomatic missions and offices of international organizations accredited to the Republic of Belarus are visiting the Polesye State Radiation Ecological Reserve and Khoiniki District (Gomel Oblast) on 13-14 September, the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affais told BelTA.

The visit has been organized by Belarus’ Emergencies Ministry in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme office in Belarus, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its aim is to raise international assistance and investments to ensure sustainable development of the Belarusian regions hit by the Chernobyl disaster, to introduce foreign diplomats to their economic potential and the activities of the state and international programs to mitigate the impact of the Chernobyl accident.

The diplomats will visit the Monument of Mourning in Khoinki, the Milkavita company, Strelichy secondary school where students learn basics of radiation protection, the Polesye State Radiation Ecological Reserve and other institutions of the district.

The second day of the visit will see the roundtable meeting “Sustainable development of the regions hit by the Chernobyl disaster”. The participants will talk about the results of activities of local authorities, UN agencies and other international organizations supported by the donor community (including the European Union and the Global Environment Facility) aimed at promoting recovery and sustainable development of the affected Belarusian regions. The diplomats will discuss the development of human, economic and environmental potential of the affected areas and basic priorities of their sustainable development taking into account the needs of the most vulnerable population groups.

The visit is expected to help coordinate the activities of the parties interested in sustainable development of the affected Belarusian areas and to lay the foundations for new partnerships.