Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

The Belarusian People's Congress should become a venue for a genuine dialogue about the development of the strategy to guide the country's development. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement during the government conference held on 27 October to discuss preparations for the 6th Belarusian People's Congress, BelTA has learned.

A regulatory act on preparing the 6th Belarusian People's Congress and on setting up the relevant organizing committee was submitted for consideration of the head of state. “Before I sign the document, I would like to discuss certain aspects of the forthcoming most important political event with you,” Aleksandr Lukashenko explained.

He stressed that the Belarusian People's Congress is a special form of the rule of the people in the country. The forum will have to determine how the state will develop in the future.

Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out that the Belarusian government had always consulted with the people before making fateful decisions.

“I've said it many times and would like to repeat once again: everything will be the way the Belarusian nation decides. Including the Constitution and ways to address problems. These are not just empty words. It is my oath. At the end of my presidential life I guarantee that everything will be in accordance with the nation's decisions. We are not going to hunt mice or create something to suit our own needs. Things will be the way people decide,” he stated.

Aleksandr Lukashenko believes that it is necessary to stipulate the status of the Belarusian People's Congress in the Constitution. “This form of ‘people's creative work' should be part of the Constitution. Not to suit needs of some individuals. Individuals are not the point,” he remarked. “Five congresses have already been held and nobody has said they have been harmful. This norm should be part of the Constitution. By the way, I've already received proposals like that from dialogue platforms. I support the idea but it is up to the people to decide it.”

Summing up results of the country's social and economic development over the last five years will be high on the agenda of the forthcoming congress. For instance, great accomplishments were secured in the development of the agribusiness in this period. This year's harvest of cereals is close to 10.5 million tonnes. “Well done. It is a very good level. We've reached it and we have to maintain it regardless of who the president is. Then we will have bread, milk, and people will be fed,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He continued: “Life goes on, the country works and develops. Despite all kinds of ultimatums issued by outside forces (primarily our neighbors). Enterprises, transport, and retail operate calmly.”

According to the president, the government takes the necessary steps for things to continue in this manner. “People work, live, and demand a safe life. At last people, particularly in Minsk, have come to appreciate what they may lose. They want things to be the way they were prior to the presidential election. It will be done. We have to satisfy this demand of the people. By all possible legal means,” the Belarusian leader stressed.

“The key task we should set before participants of the congress is working out modern, effective, and really functioning mechanisms that will help us resolve the problems that impede economic growth,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He mentioned the important role dialogue platforms being held all over the country play in this matter. Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out it is necessary to organize discussions not only at the level of specialists, parliamentarians, representatives of government agencies. It is necessary to hear out opinions and proposals of worker collectives and ordinary citizens. “We will get a large part of our society involved in the discussion of burning issues like that. It is what these dialogue platforms are all about,” he explained.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also gave instructions to pay close attention to the election of delegates to the Belarusian People's Congress. “We need representatives of absolutely all the population strata, who want to say something, want to be heard and know how to listen, representatives of all the social and professional groups, public organizations, members of the parliament and members of municipal councils of deputies. Not only executives but blue-collar workers, farmers, those who know and feel all problems of ordinary people firsthand,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “We need a genuine dialogue to work out the strategy to guide the country's development. We want people to openly discuss things. We will make decisions and will abide by them.”

Since Belarusian National Technical University was established a hundred years ago, it has trained more than 220,000 specialists for the domestic economy, Rector of the university Sergei Kharitonchik told reporters, BelTA has learned.

“For 100 years, our university has trained over 220,000 people for the country's economy. I think many will share the opinion that our university graduates have contributed a lot to building modern-day Belarus. We see buildings and other facilities designed, factories built, cars and tractors on the streets and in the fields. We also train foreign students. We have already trained over 9,000 engineers for more than 90 countries of the world. We actively cooperate with Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan,” Sergei Kharitonchik said.

According to him, engineering education is crucial for any country, because it facilitates progress. “Today the society strives for the best discoveries and inventions at the intersection of classical and fundamental disciplines. Engineering education enhanced by modern digital solutions is the key to success and development of a new high-quality product. This eases human labor and communication. We see the impact that digital solutions have on the environment and other areas of social development. Therefore, today engineering education is a highly relevant topic,” the rector added.

On 27 October Belarusian National Technical University hosted a solemn opening ceremony of the 9th Forum of Engineering and Technology Universities of the Belarus-Russia Union State. This year the event brought together over 200 participants from more than 100 universities of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, China, the Republic of Korea, Latvia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

The forum consists of four sections, including the “Arctic”, “Development of Engineering Education in the Union State”, “Youth innovative entrepreneurship” and “Centenary of Belarusian National Technical University”. These sections encompass more than 12 seminars across various areas of science and technology.

The organizers of the 9th Forum of Engineering and Technology Universities of the Belarus-Russia Union State are Belarusian National Technical University and Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University n.a. R.E. Alekseev with the support of the Standing Committee of the Union State, the Education Ministry of Belarus and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

The Belarusian air carrier Belavia will perform its first flight to Berlin Brandenburg "Willy Brandt" Airport on 6 November, BelTA learned from the press service of the air company.

“Berlin Brandenburg “Willy Brandt” Airport BER is scheduled to open on 31 October 2020. The first Belavia aircraft will land there (Terminal 1) on 6 November. From this date we will be performing flights to Berlin Brandenburg,” the airline's press service said.

Today, Belavia performs flights from Minsk to Berlin Schoenefeld Airport which is to be BER Terminal 5.

The construction of Berlin Brandenburg “Willy Brandt” Airport began in 2006. It was initially planned for commissioning in 2011. The new airport has about 4,000 rooms and is almost 1,500ha big.

The airport is located 28km away from downtown Berlin.

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko will hold a meeting to discuss the preparations for the Belarusian People's Congress, BelTA learned from the Telegram channel Pul Pervogo.

The meeting will be attended by Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, Speakers of the Council of the Republic and the House of Representatives of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova and Vladimir Andreichenko, State Secretary of the Security Council Valery Vakulchik, and Head of the Belarus President Property Management Directorate Viktor Sheiman. Among the participants of the meeting will be First Deputy Head of the President Administration Maksim Ryzhenkov, Minsk Mayor Vladimir Kukharev and Press Secretary of the Belarusian president Natalya Eismont.

“These people are in charge of the preparation of the Belarusian People's Congress. There are many more people involved in this work but not all report directly to the president,” the Telegram channel informed.

This decision was made at the first meeting of the working group on the implementation of the military-patriotic project "Trail of Military Glory", which took place last Friday on the basis of the Smolevichi region.

As the initiator of this project, Head of the Representative Office of JSC Russian Export Center in the Republic of Belarus, member of the Supervisory Board of JSB Belarusbank Viktor Doronkevich explained, this idea arose a long time ago, since his family is from these places:

“My grandmother and grandfather lived here, and since childhood, together with the veterans, we came to“ Razgrom ”. Now my children are growing up, the family tradition has been preserved. During the discussion of the idea of ​​restoring the monument at the burial place of the partisans-defeatists, a whole concept was formed. She received approval and support from the leadership of the Smolevichi regional executive committee, the Minsk regional executive committee. There is already a definite plan of action. Today, at the first meeting of the working group, a start has been made to restore the monument. Accordingly, specific terms and specific actions are envisaged, - said Viktor Doronkevich.

The working group includes representatives of major financial institutions. At the meeting, it was decided to declare the project "The Path of Military Glory" national.

- In Belarus there was such a tradition - to do something "cleanly", when people united, opportunities united, and a project was implemented. Therefore, we plan to attract the attention of the broad masses of the population both in Belarus and in Russia to this project, using the mass media to tell about this significant place, about the progress of the project, i.e. to deploy broad information work. This will help us raise money for this truly people's project and get financial support. The funds received will be used to restore the Mayhem memorial, to develop infrastructure, as it can be included in the tourist routes of the main travel companies from the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. Accordingly, we also have ideas for the further development of the "Path of Military Glory" project, - said Viktor Doronkevich.

Let us remind our readers that the memorial complex "Razgrom" in the Strievo tract was built on the site of the dislocation of the partisan brigade of the same name. Every year, on the first Sunday of July, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and local residents gather at this place to honor the memory of the killed partisans-defeatists. To our great regret, the hurricane that swept over the Smolevichi region several years ago did not bypass the Strievo tract. Falling trees damaged a monument at the partisan cemetery.

- Today we are witnessing a significant event. It is from the Smolevichy region that the project to restore all memorial complexes starts. It is important for us, for our children, for our future, so that we remember the Great Patriotic War, - said the chairman of the Smolevichi regional executive committee Andrei Ratomsky.

During the meeting, the working group visited the museum of military glory of the State Educational Institution "Klenniksky CPC kindergarten-basic school", became a participant in the rally-requium "Forever in memory" directly in Strivevo in the memorial complex, where flowers and wreaths were laid to the grave of those who fell in battles for the Motherland partisans, whose names are immortalized on memorial signs.

М.Мerkul.

Photo by Natalya VERBITSKAYA.

As of 25 October, 83,237 patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 recovered and were discharged from hospitals in Belarus, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry.

The nationwide COVID-19 tally has reached 92,823 cases. Belarus has performed 2,372,445 tests.

As many as 957 COVID-19 patients suffering from a number of chronic diseases have died since the infection's outbreak in Belarus.

It is important to procure sufficient volumes of vegetables and fruit from Belarusian farms and to provide consumers with an opportunity to choose the products they like, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during his working trip to Slutsk District on 23 October, BelTA informs.

The president was briefed on the final stage of the harvesting campaign, gathering of vegetables and corn, replenishment of stabilization funds.

“The main objective for the Minsk mayor and governors is to distribute vegetables, potatoes in a way to avoid price fluctuations in winter and to meet the demand,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He asked about the harvesting and procurement of fruit. The harvesting of apples is nearing completion. And the demand for this products in the country will be fully satisfied. Besides, there are no bans for import. “People will have a choice. We do not ban the import of Egyptian and other apples. If you want to sell them, you are welcome. But good Belarusian apples should be also available. We will keep prices under serious control in winter. MPs and trade unions are committed to it. And they are monitoring this issue. You need to keep an eye on trade,” the president stated.

“Give instructions, Belarusian products should be always available in retail networks. It is funny that they import potatoes from Egypt or Turkey. It's okay. But we have the best potatoes,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

In this regard, the president was told that the import of potatoes had been minimized recently.

The president also deems it necessary to ramp up the export of agricultural products. “You see the demand. Sugar also sells well. Russians are interested, they now have a big deficit of sugar. Of course, we will help. And sugar prices have increased,” the Belarusian leader said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also demands to take care of farmers. They should be paid decent salaries for their work and for products they deliver.

The president was informed that there are no problems with the completion of the harvesting campaign in general. “I also feel that we do not have and will not have problems. The main thing is to gather the harvest on time,” he said.

A session of the CIS Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives will be hosted by the CIS Executive Committee in Minsk on 27 October, BelTA learned from the press service of the CIS Executive Committee.

The first item on the agenda will be the activities of the CIS Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation. Mikhail Shvydkoy, co-chairman of the board, and Anatoly Iksanov, the fund's executive director, will present reports on this issue via a video link.

Then the permanent representatives will consider the preparations for the next meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government, which will be held in an online format on 6 November. The summit is expected to adopt the documents important on further development of cooperation within the CIS.

In addition, the members of the council will discuss the participation of the CIS countries in the 28th Minsk International Book Fair, one of the events envisaged in a plan of events to celebrate the CIS 30th anniversary. Deputy Information Minister Igor Buzovsky will report on the preparations for the book fair.

The Belarusian air carrier Belavia has canceled all Minsk- Almaty-Minsk flights scheduled for 26 October 2020 – 27 March 2021 following a relevant decision of the Kazakhstan authorities, BelTA learned from the website of the airline.

Belavia will fly from Minsk to Nur-Sultan on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday and from Nur-Sultan to Minsk on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Customers who purchased tickets for these travel dates will be able to apply for a refund or to reschedule their flights till 30 March 2021. Tickets can be refunded and flights can be rescheduled at company's offices and customer service centers.

It is important that the special services of Belarus and Russia collaborate, taking into account the external situation, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin in Minsk on 22 October, BelTA has learned.

The head of state welcomed the guest. “It is believed that we have not seen each other for a long time. We cooperated very actively when you headed the house of Parliament [Sergey Naryshkin headed the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation in 2011-2016]. You were the most prominent politician in the post-Soviet space, and then you, as chekists say, withdrew into shadows because of the specifics of your current work. So I am happy to meet with you. I have been following your work mostly on TV from the reports of your and my colleagues. The Russian president often tells me about you. Many documents... Introduces me to the insights of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation that concern our relations and the Union State,” the president said.

"I am sure our meeting will create an explosion of sorts in the media, especially on the internet. We do not hide the fact that the situation around us, I mean the Union State, is not easy. I thank you for the information that you regularly share with our special services and with me as well," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He stressed that he is very grateful for such information and that it is taken seriously in Belarus. “In this regard, we have a lot of joint work in this direction, because in this world, the world that has gone frenzy, especially over this pandemic and so on, we do not have many friends, let us be frank. Everyone has an interest in us - in Russia, Belarus. We have to respond. Therefore, I think we will agree on a lot of things - to work together for the benefit of our peoples,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.