Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus S.Aleinik participates in the high-level week of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly

On September 19, 2023 the Belarusian delegation, which also included the Deputy Chair of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly, Valery Belski, and the Chair of the Standing Commission of the Council of the Republic for Foreign Affairs and National Security, Sergei Rachkov, took part in the High-level Meeting on Global Development Initiative Cooperation Outcomes “GDI for SDGs: Actions and Progress”. The meeting was chaired by the Vice President of the People's Republic of China, Han Zheng.

Background Information: President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping presented the “Global Development Initiative” at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2021. Its main objective is to implement practical cooperation in eight areas, including poverty reduction, food security, health care, climate change, financing for development, industrialization, digital economy, in order to achieve sustainable development.

Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik in his national statement confirmed Belarus’ commitment to sustainable development and its readiness to interact within the framework of the Initiative. The Minister expressed hope that the Initiative will help eliminate the illegal practice of unilateral coercive measures that impede poverty eradication, threaten food security and affect many other areas of the 2030 Agenda.

As part of the work of the Belarusian delegation, Sergei Aleinik met with his Pakistani colleague Jalil Abbas Jilani. The main attention was paid to issues of industrial cooperation and intensification of bilateral trade and economic relations. In this context, the parties discussed the preparation of a Roadmap for increasing trade turnover between Belarus and Pakistan. In this regard, the Ministers agreed on a schedule for upcoming bilateral contacts at various levels.

The prospects for the development of cooperation between the parliaments of Belarus and Pakistan and interaction in the international arena, including within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, were also discussed.

Jalil Abbas Jilani informed about the development of the internal political situation in Pakistan.

The meeting of Sergei Aleinik with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone, Timothy Musa Kabba, took place on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which the countries will celebrate on September 27.

In development of the conversation held on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, the heads of foreign affairs agencies confirmed their mutual interest in developing political dialogue, increasing trade and economic cooperation and intensifying bilateral interaction in the fields of industry, agriculture, energy, healthcare and education. Timothy Musa Kabba emphasized the special interest that the Belarusian experience in agricultural development represents for his country.

The Minister of Sierra Leone also informed about the internal political situation in his country and in the African region as a whole.

Sergei Aleinik confirmed Belarus’ readiness for a substantive discussion of all areas of interaction and invited his colleague to visit our country. The parties agreed to work together on a number of bilateral agreements that will create a legal basis for further cooperation in trade, economic, humanitarian and other areas.

On the margins of the General Assembly session, Sergei Aleinik also had a brief exchange of views with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Alexei Overchuk, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Sameh Shoukry.

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