Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 26 October (BelTA) – Belarus and its strategic partner, Russia, were the pioneers of integration processes on the post-Soviet space, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said when speaking at the international conference “Laying the foundation in the UNECE region for economic. Integration and sustainable development towards 2030” in Minsk, BelTA has learned.

“Deep and productive integration with the closest neighbors was, is, and will be a natural way of development for Belarus,” the minister said. “Our closest neighbor and strategic partner is Russia, with which we were the pioneers of integration processes in the post-Soviet space.”

The conference aims to promote the “integration of integrations” initiative announced by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko at the UN summit in 2015. Partaking in the opening ceremony was Belarus Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov who read out the greetings from the head of state.

The conference which will last for two days is attended by more than 130 guests from the UNECE region, including the representatives of parliaments, ministries of foreign affairs, various integration associations, and international organizations.