Minister of Foreign Affairs of of Belarus M.Ryzhenkov participates in the high-level week of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (second day)

On September 27, 2024 within the framework of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Maxim Ryzhenkov, took part in the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter, where he voiced Belarus' position on the need to resume a broad international dialogue on restoring global security, as well as the inadmissibility of the use of unilateral coercive measures in violation of the UN Charter. 

During the meeting, the participants also discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and in the Middle East, the conflict in Ukraine, various peacekeeping initiatives and their prospects. 

As a result of the event, a political declaration was adopted, which will be published as an official document of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.

Background Information: the Group of Friends is an informal association of like-minded states, created on the initiative of Venezuela in July 2021. The Group includes Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Iran, China, North Korea, Cuba, Laos, Mali, Nicaragua, Palestine, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Syria, Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea. The objectives of the Group are to resist unilateral coercive measures, protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the participating countries in accordance with the principles of international law, and promote joint initiatives aimed at protecting and strengthening the authority of the provisions of the UN Charter.

The first Ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends took place on September 23, 2021 on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, USA. The Second ministerial meeting was held on October 12, 2021 on the sidelines of the event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade, Serbia. The Third ministerial meeting was held on September 22, 2022 during the high-level week of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, USA. The fourth ministerial meeting was held on September 22, 2023 during the high-level week of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, USA. The fifth ministerial meeting was held on January 18, 2024. on the sidelines of the 19th Summit of Heads of State and Heads of Government of the Non-Aligned Movement member Countries in Kampala, Uganda. As a result of the meetings, political declarations were adopted.

Next, Maxim Ryzhenkov took part in the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, which was chaired by the UN Deputy Secretary General/High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, former Foreign Minister of Spain, Miguel Moratinos. 

Background Information: The Alliance of Civilizations is an international organization founded in 2005 on the initiative of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan with the support of the Governments of Spain and Turkey in order to establish interethnic, intercultural and interreligious dialogue. The Friends of the AC Group consists of 160 members (130 UN member states, Palestine and 29 international organizations). 

The activities of the Alliance of Civilizations are carried out in five areas: education, youth, media, migration, and gender equality.

Maxim Ryzhenkov with Miguel Moratinos, Under-Secretary-General,
High Representative of the UN Alliance of Civilisations

In his statement, the Minister noted that Belarus is home to 156 nationalities and 25 confessions, and at the same time, there have never been disagreements in Belarusian society based on racial, national and religious hatred. Because one of its foundations is respect for all nationalities, religions and languages without any discrimination. M.Ryzhenkov expressed support for the Alliance's efforts to involve youth representatives in the decision-making process, who should play a creative role and complement governments in shaping national policies for the future.

The Foreign Minister drew attention to the fact that Belarus considers migration as a phenomenon capable of making a positive contribution to the development of any society through culture, knowledge, customs and traditions, noting at the same time the increasingly politicized nature of this topic and calling for the resolution of any controversial issues through dialogue. 

Noting the important role of the media in educating and promoting sustainable progress, the Minister called on the Alliance of Civilizations to step up the fight against hate speech and disinformation.

The work of the Belarusian delegation continued with talks with the Foreign Minister of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla. The sides discussed the elements of the roadmap for bilateral cooperation and the international agenda, including the Ukrainian conflict. The parties checked the schedule of prospective contacts at various levels. The Ministers touched upon the topic of BRICS and cooperation in international organizations. The coincidence of the stances of Belarus and Cuba on the absolute majority of international issues was emphasized and the inadmissibility and illegality of the use of unilateral coercive measures in interstate relations, which negatively affect the sustainable development of individual countries and entire regions, was noted.

The meeting with the Foreign Minister of Syria, Bassam Sabbagh, was devoted to projects to restore the infrastructure and economy of Syria, the development of inter-parliamentary cooperation, the situation in the Middle East and in global geopolitics in general. Separately, the Ministers discussed the continuation of the rehabilitation of Syrian children affected by the armed conflict in Belarus. Bassam Sabbagh noted that 1,500 children have already improved their health under this program and expressed his deep gratitude to the President of Belarus for this initiative.

The meeting with the Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Ivan Hill Pinto, was focused on the implementation of agreements following the visit of the Prime Minister of Belarus to Caracas and ways to develop industrial cooperation. The sides touched upon the topic of BRICS. The Ministers also discussed joint counteraction to structured attempts by individual countries to exert aggressive pressure and interfere in the internal affairs of independent states.

M.Ryzhenkov also had a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Zimbabwe, Frederick Shawa, on the sidelines of the General Assembly. The main topic was the discussion of the prospects of using the accumulated Belarusian-Zimbabwean potential to promote and develop cooperation with other countries of the African continent. The interlocutor also expressed gratitude to the Belarusian side for providing humanitarian aid to the northern regions of Zimbabwe in order to overcome the consequences of an unprecedented drought.

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