Belarusian Foreign Ministry hosts a round table on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the modern Belarusian diplomatic service

04-01-2019

On January 4, 2019 Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Belarus hosted a round table dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Belarusian diplomatic service to be celebrated on January 22, 2019.

The event was attended by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Andrei Dapkiunas, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (ret.), Vladimir Schasny, Deputy Editor in Chief of the “Belaruskaya Dumka” magazine, Tatyana Shablyko, representatives from academia – the Dean of the Faculty of International Relations of the Belarusian State University, Victor Shadurski, professor of the International Relations Department of the Faculty of International Relations of the Belarusian State University, Vladimir Snapkovsky, Associate Professor of the Faculty of History of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank, Anatoly Velikiy.

The participants of the very intensive and committed debates paid their attention to key historic facts, periods of formation and development of the Belarusian diplomatic service, the issue of setting the date of the new professional holiday in Belarus that is a diplomat’s day, and also mentioned in retrospect deeper historic roots of the national diplomacy. During the discussion, the participants spotted a number of “historic blind spots”, which could be of significant interest for researchers and general public.

The round table participants exchanged their opinions on the diplomatic profession and its’ value for a state, including also in the light of the decisions taken on heraldic symbols of the Belarus Foreign Ministry, noted importance of the national diplomat training system which exists in Belarus.

The participants made a number of practical proposals, notably on scientific work, data base establishment and study of archival records.

The round table participants expressed the need for organising such meetings on a regular basis, strengthening ties between the MFA and academic institutions.

Round table materials will be widely available in January in the “Belaruskaya Dumka” magazine. Certain aspects of the discussion may be reflected in the newspaper “Zvyazda” and on the portal “Sputnik Belarus”.

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