Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 7 February (BelTA) – Minsk maintains the status of one of the regional political centers and remains the venue that hosts talks to discuss regional and world problems, Belarus’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said at the final board session of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the results of work in 2017 with the participation of Belarus’ Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov on 7 February, BelTA informs.

“The goal of today's meeting is to take stock of the things done in the key foreign economic area in 2017 and outline the optimal path forward. I suggest we concentrate on the analysis of the political and economic challenges that were set forth by the head of state. We view all these problems in relation to the achievement of the main goal, which is to increase and diversify exports using all possible tools,” Vladimir Makei said.

The minister noted that in 2017, in the difficult circumstances, Belarus upheld and strengthened its international positions thanks to the joint efforts. This is evidenced by Belarus’ first and very successful presidency in an non-CIS international organization, namely the Central European Initiative. Belarus payed host, for the first time in its history, to the 26th annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Belarus’ chairmanship in the CSTO was also productive.

“Minsk maintains the status of one of the regional political centers and remains the venue that hosts talks to discuss regional and world problems. This is not done for laurels. We will continue our efforts to ensure security in the region. We are ready to host any negotiations and will continue to promote peacekeeping initiatives, participate in the development of the relevant international agenda,” Vladimir Makei said.