Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

The Belarusian Emergencies Ministry will purchase machinery and equipment in line with the EU technical assistance project, First Deputy Emergencies Minister Aleksandr Khudoleyev told journalists, BelTA has learned.

“Today we are officially launching the international technical assistance project Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus. It actually kicked off in 2019 and will run through 2021. The project provides for purchasing equipment for rapid response to various emergencies related to climate change,” Aleksandr Khudoleyev said. “This is a global problem. The world is witnessing considerable climate change, which leads to losses and additional expenses,” he added.

The project was initiated by Belarus. “We would like to thank our colleagues from Latvia and Lithuania for their support in the organization and implementation of the project. This will help us gain the necessary experience in emergency response and, of course, enhance cross-border cooperation with our colleagues and friends. The project also provides for holding cross-border drills,” Aleksandr Khudoleyev noted. “The budget of the project is more than €1 million. These funds will be spent on machinery and rescue equipment for Belarus and other participants of the project. This includes vehicles with enhanced cross-country capacity that can access and work in hard-to-reach places and rescue equipment for work in confined areas and in severe and extreme weather conditions,” he added.

The international technical assistance project “ClimaAdapt: Capacity Improvement in Emergency Preparedness and Response through Climate Adaptation Actions” is financed in line with the 2014-2020 European Neighborhood Instrument Cross-border Cooperation Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus Program. The project was registered at the Belarusian Economy Ministry in October 2019 and is set to run in 2019-2021.

The lead beneficiary of the international technical assistance is the National Special Response Team of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry. The total budget is €1,096,050.75, €986,445.68 of which is allocated by the European Union.

The project is meant to intensify the Belarusian-Latvian cooperation in emergencies preparedness and response.

The project is aimed at dealing with the increased number of natural disasters and reducing their social and economic impact. It is almost impossible to control natural disasters, but the implementation of the project by Belarus and Latvia will help create safer conditions for the population by improving emergency response.

In line with the project, Belarus and Latvia intend to develop a methodology for rescue services on response to natural disasters in difficult climatic conditions. The countries will also hold a joint cross-border exercise at the training range of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry and organize seminars and visits for representatives of rescue services. Moreover, plans are in place to raise awareness of how to stay safe in a natural disaster and improve the technological capacity of Belarusian and Latvian rescue services in mitigating the negative impact of climate change.

Photos by Andrei Pokumeiko

The Belarusian air carrier Belavia has extended suspension of air travel to Larnaca till 24 October, BelTA learned from the website of the airline.

Belavia will not fly to Riga, Tallinn, and Budapest till 24 October, to all destinations in Georgia till 31 October, and to Ashgabat till 1 November. Flights to Russia's Voronezh, Kazan, and Nizhny Novgorod have been suspended till 24 October.

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.

Belarus' strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and the experience it has gained are valuable for the entire world, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting to discuss the preparedness of the healthcare system to confront the rise in the incidence of COVID-19 and seasonal respiratory diseases, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that during the peak of the disease in the spring Belarus' healthcare providers came up with good treatment solutions to tackle coronavirus. “The experience we have gained is invaluable. And the path that we chose is also invaluable for the whole world today,” the president said. “Indeed, no one will thank you for the path we have gone down, for the methods we used to treat our people, for not isolating them or imposing a lockdown, for encouraging people to be in the fresh air. However, if you go to a pharmacy or a store, be sure to take a mask with you,” the president said.

The head of state noted: today other countries have chosen a similar path to follow as they have canceled quarantine measures. “Thus, we have gained invaluable experience of combating coronavirus and it must be used today,” he stressed. Aleksandr Lukashenko added that the Healthcare Ministry should draft its own recommendations, but at the same time it is necessary to refrain from going into extremes. “Let's not recommend what is impossible to implement,” the president said.

“I want to make my position clear: today I have no plans to isolate the country and impose a lockdown. Had we done it in February, March or April, we would have faced the consequences: we would not have jobs, we would deliver a heavy blow on the economy, we would have no salaries to pay. And again, this is not a choice between bad and completely bad or bad and good: life does not put up to such a test today,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

Minsk region has the highest demand for suburban real estate.

About 450 transactions are made per year. This is followed by Slutsk, Volozhin and Borisov regions. Least of all transactions are made in Gomel region, and the lowest prices for suburban real estate are also noted here.

Veronika Solovyova, head of the appraisal department of the National Cadastral Agency: "The leader is the Minsk region, specifically the Minsk region. The largest number of transactions is carried out here. The average annual number of transactions over the past 4 years amounted to 450 transactions per year (this is a lot) and about 350 auctions For comparison, the nearest districts that catch up with the Minsk region in terms of the number of transactions are all in the range from 250 to 290 transactions. "

Note that recently, when choosing suburban real estate, buyers most often pay attention to the presence near a forest and a reservoir.

The ministerial consultations to discuss cooperation of the CIS member states in the information sector took place as a video conference with the participation of the plenipotentiary representatives of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the staff of the CIS Executive Committee on 6 October, BelTA learned from the press service of the CIS Executive Committee.

The participants of the consultations exchanged information on the progress made to ensure information support of the events under Uzbekistan's presidency in the CIS in 2020 and agreed to continue such practice next year under the presidency of Belarus and in connection with the 30th anniversary of the CIS.

The participants of the event considered issues of interaction with new participants of the information space (bloggers, users of social networks), various aspects of information work amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the use of social networks to inform compatriots abroad. Participants also discussed the forms and methods of work of ministries of foreign affairs with representatives of national and foreign media.

“Belarus' proposal was supported to hold the next consultations on the interaction of the CIS states in the information sector in Minsk in 2021. It was decided to agree on the date and format of the event as part of working-level discussions,” the press service said.

It is essential to develop the manufacture of wooden products, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he heard out a report on the development of the wood processing, pulp and paper industry on 6 October, BelTA informs.

“During the election campaign I was speaking about it a lot when our opposition members were calling for reforms. These are the reforms – we need to develop and advance production relying on forestry resources,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He remarked that Belarusian enterprises have already learned to make the so-called semi-finished products – pulp and paper. “Let's make, for example, cardboard to substitute imported cardboard from Poland, Germany. Let's make it here instead of exporting pulp and buying finished cardboard. We need to do it immediately. We need to install a machine to produce cardboard and packaging,” the president stressed.

According to the head of state, the majority of work in this area should be done next year. “Whatever the cost,” he said.

According to the Belarusian timber, woodworking, pulp and paper industry concern Bellesbumprom, the role of the forestry industry in the Belarusian industry has increased significantly after the modernization of basic wood processing, pulp and paper companies. The wood processing industry was increasingly vibrant, its output exceeded 20 million cubic meters in 2019.

The modernization of board production enterprises allowed processing low-grade wood. Its consumption will make up 5.2 million cubic meters in 2020. Modernized producers of fuel pellets will additionally process 2.8 million cubic meters of hardwood.

The launch of modernized wood processing complexes gave a significant boost to furniture manufacturers. Enterprises use local materials – wood boards – in the manufacture of cost-effective and in-demand furniture. In the past five years the number of furniture manufacturers doubled to exceed 1,300.

Bellesbumprom enterprises specialize in deep wood processing, make products with a high added value, and export more than 70% of the output. In 2020, in spite of the difficult coronavirus situation, Bellesbumprom enterprises managed to keep the production and export volumes stable. In January-August their export made up $377.9 million.

Belarusians have submitted about 350 proposals on amending the Constitutional over three days, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Commission on State Building, Local Government and Regulations of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Viktor Svillo told the STV TV channel, BelTA has learned.

On 2 October the House of Representatives posted an announcement inviting the public to contribute their views on constitutional amendments. The proposals will be accepted till 25 October.

According to Viktor Svillo, the feedback was huge. “By midday on 5 October, there were already about 350 proposals from the public. The proposals are very interesting. Of course, these proposals were not formulated in a legally established manner. People just expressed their wishes. And the task of the parliament is to process all this. In this case, the parliament acts as an aggregator. All proposals that ordinary citizens send to us must be grouped and processed in a certain way. Subsequently, we should produce a certain output of a legal nature. However, these will be parliamentary proposals,” he said.

The MP thanked all people who send proposals. He stressed that the MPs will summarize and analyze the collected materials. “I would like to warn against disappointment those contributors who might not see their proposals. In one form or another they will be taken on board,” Viktor Svillo added.

The Urbany checkpoint is to be commissioned after renovations in November.

This information was aired by the Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA informs.

The checkpoint is 93% ready. After the renovation, its capacity will almost quadruple. Now the checkpoint can handle 270 vehicles per day, after reopening it will be able to handle up to 1,000 vehicles.

The Verkhniy Terebezhov checkpoint is also under renovations. It is 70% ready. The checkpoint is planned to be commissioned in the first half of 2021. Now the checkpoint can handle 255 vehicles per day, after renovations it will be able to handle 900 vehicles.

“The head of state asked about efforts to improve infrastructure in other checkpoints. Of course, we are analyzing the situation, the traffic in various regions and highways trying to understand whether large-scale customs infrastructure will be in demand there,” Chairman of the State Customs Committee Yuri Senko said. He stressed that everything should be approached comprehensively, taking into account road repairs.

The chairman of the State Customs Committee underlined that the committee maintains close communication with transportation companies and road haulers in a bid to identify possible bottlenecks in border infrastructure. “We study their feedback and take it on board. Unfortunately, there is a problem of queues at the border. As a rule, these problems have to do with the actions of the neighboring states and are not connected with the work of the Belarusian side,” he added.

Due to the complicated epidemic situation and climbing coronavirus infection rates in a number of countries Belarus' Customs will continue taking preventive measures at the border in order to prevent the infection from reaching the country, BelTA learned from Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Belarus Yuri Senko.

The official commented on mass media reports about the Belarusian customs service allegedly cracking down on merchandise import by individuals. “The customs service fulfils all the sanitary norms a pandemic requires. Including in order to prevent the transportation of goods that can somehow influence the safety of people,” Yuri Senko explained. This is why the rules that allow natural persons to transport goods across the border that only they will use are in effect. “If they are intended for commerce, then we need the owner to pay the customs duty or the citizen can return with the goods or the goods can be put in storage. It is up to the citizens,” the official clarified. “Tougher rules have been enforced in many countries. For instance, you cannot import one sandwich into the European Union, they will force you to throw it away into a special container. So, every country protects its import, safety, and order. It is a mandatory condition.”

According to Yuri Senko, the restrictions primarily apply to food. “The goods on which various diseases and infections can be transported. Because not every piece of merchandise is disinfected at the border,” he noted.

The practice of monitoring the transportation of merchandise and the movement of heavy trucks using navigation devices (seals) continues in Belarus. The new practice makes drivers more disciplined. In the past the customs service detected over 30 various violations committed by truck drivers per day. The number does not exceed one per day after digital navigation devices (seals) were introduced.

Belarus' Customs expanded the use of these devices in August 2020. They are now used as an alternative to customs escort for expensive cargoes among other things. It allows reducing the relevant costs of shipping companies by ten times on the average. A customs escort to the Belarusian-Russian border costs about $300 while the use of a navigation seal costs as little as $30.

Belarus should make the best possible use of its renewable forest resources, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he heard out a report on the development of the country's woodworking, pulp and paper industries on 6 October, BelTA has learned.

“Today I would like to hear answers to a number of questions regarding the implementation of my instructions,” the president said at the beginning of the meeting.

According to the head of state, the woodworking industry is the most important and strategic one for the national economy. “Having considerable reserves of renewable forest resources, we need to ensure their rational use with maximum effect. We have made decisions to get all the added value here, at our enterprises. This issue needs to be resolved as soon as possible. A lot has been done for that,” he said.

The president said that the major woodworking enterprises had been upgraded. Projects in the pulp and paper industry are currently under implementation. Considerable financial resources have been injected in this area, he said.

“It should be noted that the invested funds work. The staff have been preserved at the enterprises, which would not exist today if not for modernization. Thousands of new jobs have been created. The volumes of timber processing and the export of high value-added products have been increased several times. As for the export, the media reports provide the figure of 75% of the output. This is a good thing. Other important things include the price for these products and the efficiency of production, i.e. profitability,” the head of state said.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, the industry shows a confident growth in general. The government pays the closest attention to the sector, with top officials being coordinators of its most important projects.

The most problematic investment projects were considered at the meeting hosted by the president in late 2019. These were the plants producing base paper in Shklov, coated and uncoated cardboard in Dobrush and bleached sulphate pulp in Svetlogorsk. Then, decisions were made on the implementation and completion of the projects.

“I would like to hear answers to the following questions. First, what is the general situation in the woodworking industry: export, financing, enterprises' performance, salaries. Has the coronavirus epidemic affected the industry?” asked the president. According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, in January-August 2020 Bellesbumprom's industrial output exceeded the last year's figures by about 2.5-3%. The export figures were higher, as well.

“The second question: what is the progress in the implementation of the most important investment projects? We have made decisions on Svetlogorsk, Dobrush and Shklov. Are these projects on schedule? Question number three: what prospects are there for the construction of paper and packaging facilities? We have discussed it with you already. Here are the reforms - we need to develop manufacturing based on forest resources,” the head of state stressed.

According to Bellesbumprom, the role of the forest sector in the Belarusian economy has increased significantly following the upgrade of basic woodworking and pulp and paper enterprises. The wood processing volume in the country considerably increased to exceed 20 million cubic meters in 2019.

Modernization of panel factories made it possible to put low-grade timber into use. The total volume of its consumption will reach 5.2 million cubic meters in 2020. Thanks to the development of bioenergy processing plants for fuel pellets, a total of 2.8 million cubic meters of hardwood will be additionally used by 2025.

Commissioning of the modernized woodworking complexes has significantly expanded the opportunities for furniture manufacturers. Companies began using domestic materials such as wood boards to produce economical and in-demand furniture. Over the past five years, the number of furniture manufacturers has doubled. Today there are over 1,300 of them in the country.

Bellesbumprom enterprises are engaged in deep processing of wood to produce high value-added products, more than 70% of which is supplied to foreign markets. This year, despite the difficult situation due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bellesbumprom's enterprises managed to maintain a stable production and sales level. In January-August, enterprises exported $377.9 million worth of products.