Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Makei participates in the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly

23 September 2017

23-09-2017

On September 21, 2017 on the margins of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, held a meeting with the President of the UN General Assembly, Miroslav Lajcak.

V.Makei welcomed the appointment of the representative of the Eastern European Group to this important post. Minister expressed full support by Belarus of the initiatives of the President of the UN General Assembly.

V.Makei drew the interlocutor's attention to the activities of Belarus, as one of the coordinators of the Like-Minded Group of Countries Supporters of Middle-Income Countries, as well as suggested to support the development of a comprehensive UN strategy for cooperation with these countries.

In his turn, the President of the General Assembly highly appreciated the contribution of the Republic of Belarus to the work of the UN and expressed readiness to promote the development of a cooperation platform with middle-income countries.

M.Lajcak focused on the need to strengthen the preventive component of the UN work on peace and security, called for the most active participation of Belarus in the work on the global strategy for migration, as well as outlined his vision of the reformation of the UN Security Council and revitalization of the work of the UN General Assembly.

V.Makei and M.Lajcak exchanged views on the UN reorganization, initiated by the UN Secretary General.

On the margins of the session, V.Makei also met with the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Anthony Lake. The Minister noted that issues of child protection and family support are in the focus of attention of the country's leadership. An important support in this work is provided by the UNICEF Office in Minsk. A.Lake, in return, highly appreciated the efforts of Belarus to promote the rights of children at the national level in the context of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and assured the continuation of constructive cooperation between UNICEF and Belarus. He also expressed satisfaction with the constructive role that the Belarusian delegation plays in the UNICEF Executive Board. The Minister invited the Head of UNICEF to visit Belarus.

During the meeting with the Foreign Minister of Algeria, Abdelkader Mesakhel, the Head of Belarusian Foreign Ministry noted the need to expand trade and economic cooperation and implement joint projects. A.Mesahel proposed to organize the visit of an expert-level Belarusian delegation to Algeria to determine the list of concrete measures that will strengthen bilateral cooperation. The sides agreed on the importance of establishment of direct contacts between business circles of the two countries.

At the meeting held by V.Makei with the Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moallem, the situation in Syria and the prospects for its’ settlement where on top of the agenda. W.al-Moallem expressed gratitude to Belarus for the humanitarian cooperation, in particular for the reception of Syrian children who were on recovery at the “Zubrenok” children's camp in August 2017. The sides also discussed specific issues of cooperation in the sphere of trade and education.

At the initiative of the North Korean side, the Head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry met with the Foreign Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Lee Yong-ho, who raised issues of bilateral relations and cooperation in international organizations. The Ministers exchanged views on the situation on the Korean peninsula. V.Makei noted that all parties to the conflict should refrain from actions that could lead to further escalation of tensions. He also emphasized, that Belarus is ready to continue dialogue with the DPRK on topical issues taking into account decisions of the UN Security Council.

On the same day, V.Makei met with Nechemia Peres, a son of former Israel President Shimon Peres, a Nobel Laureate and a native of Belarus. N.Peres presented the autobiographical book of his father, in which S.Peres highly speaks about the place where he was born and spent his childhood. Upon the initiative of the Minister, the sides discussed the issues on the preservation of the memory about famous representatives of the Jewish people whose life and work were connected with the Belarusian land. During the meeting, N.Peres suggested to open in Belarus Office of the Peace Center, which main direction of activity is training of youth in the field of innovative and technological development.