Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus I.Secreta takes part in the meeting of the Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations
14 April 2025
On April 14, 2025 the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Igor Secreta, as the National Coordinator of the Republic of Belarus, took part in the Third Meeting of National Coordinators of the Member States of the Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations (GoF), which is taking place these days in Moscow.
The Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter was established in 2021 and currently unites 19 states: Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Iran, China, DPRK, Cuba, Laos, Mali, Nicaragua, Palestine, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Syria, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea. The GoF advocates within the UN and other international platforms for the preservation of the rule of international law and the provisions of the UN Charter in international relations.
I.Secreta spoke in the general debate at the meeting of national coordinators of the GoF. In his speech, the Deputy Minister called for special attention to be paid in 2025 to the events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the UN. In this context, he also emphasised the importance of the International Delegate's Day, which was established at the initiative of Belarus and will be celebrated by the international community on April 25 – the day when the the United Nations Conference on International Organisation began its work 80 years ago in San Francisco. Strong support was expressed for the work of the Group of Friends to establish an international day against colonialism and an international day against unilateral coercive measures.
The Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus called on the GoF to take further measures to inform the international community about the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on global food security and sustainable development.
On the sidelines of the meeting of the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Igor Secreta, also held a working meeting with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Vershinin.
During the conversation, topical issues of cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation within the framework of international organisations were touched upon. Particular attention was paid to the coordination of actions of the two countries to preserve the central role of the United Nations in addressing the issues of maintaining international peace and security, organising international assistance to the countries of the world in need in economic and social development.
Joint steps of Belarus and Russia to support each other's initiatives in the General Assembly and other UN bodies were also discussed.
The parties considered ways to improve the work of the Group of Friends in defence of the UN Charter, further building up its potential to defend common interests in the UN and other international platforms.
The activities of the Third Meeting of National Coordinators of the Member States of the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter will continue on April 15, 2025. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, I.Secreta, has a number of bilateral meetings planned.
