Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

The Belarusian air carrier Belavia restarts the charter program to Montenegro on 10 July, the airline said on its Facebook account.

Flights from Minsk to Tivat will be operated daily.

For more information, please contact travel operators.

"No PCR test will be required to fly to Montenegro," the airline said.

MINSK, 6 July (BelTA) – Belarus is ready advance cooperation with Slovakia, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Slovakia to Belarus Jozef Migas on 6 July, BelTA informs.

The head of state said that the two countries maintain very good relations and have a very big untapped potential for the development of the trade and economic cooperation. «Let's agree that the major indicator - $220 million worth of bilateral trade is not huge,» he said. «However, some time ago we did not even have this trade turnover, and the increase is significant. But we can do more, we are prepared for close cooperation with your wonderful Slovakia across the board, we are ready to learn from you in many fields (and you can teach a lot in various fields ranging from sport to industrial development). We are ready to advance cooperation.»

The president mentioned Jozef Migas' experience of work in various fields and suggested that he should continue cooperation with Belarus in the future. «In your life you have been a public figure and a successful businessman,» Aleksandr Lukashenko said. «I think we can do a lot, including with your help. We are open for this cooperation. If you have any proposals, even if you decide not to do business or production in the future, please know that Belarus will be a place where you will be able to develop any sphere you want.»

The trade and economic cooperation of Belarus and Slovakia is increasingly vibrant. In 2019, the bilateral trade went up almost 7% year on year to reach $226 million. Export made up $114 million, import - $112 million. In January-April 2020, the trade turnover reached $63.4 million. Belarus' major exports to Slovakia are medical devices and equipment, iron wires, oil products, polyamides, tractors. Major imports from Slovakia include cars and spare parts, corn, combustion engines, foodstuffs.

In 2019, Belarus significantly increased the export of services, predominantly transport and computer services, to Slovakia to $17.7 million (up 18.9% from the level of 2018).

As of 1 January 2020, Slovakia invested $5 million, including $4.6 million worth of direct investments, in the Belarusian economy. There are eleven joint ventures and seven foreign companies with the Slovakian capital in Belarus.

MINSK, 3 July (BelTA) – The world's tallest building – the skyscraper Burj Khalifa – has been lit with colors of the Belarusian flag in honor of Belarus' Independence Day.

A video of it is available in the Facebook account of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BelTA has learned.

The skyscraper Burj Khalifa is 828 meters high. It is located in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. The building's shape resembles a stalagmite. The building was solemnly opened on 4 January 2010.

MINSK, 6 July (BelTA) - The Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BelCCI) and Belarusbank have signed a memorandum on joint actions to promote export for 2020-2021, BelTA learned from the BelCCI.

On behalf of the BelCCI, the document was signed by its Chairman Vladimir Ulakhovich and on behalf of Belarusbank – by First Deputy Chairman of the Board Aleksandr Polivko.

The document consolidates the efforts to promote Belarusian exports. The parties agreed to step up cooperation in such areas as dissemination of information on national export, organization of seminars on financial support for exports, joint market research and consulting services in support of exports, organization of national and international exhibitions, promotion of international contacts of Belarusian enterprises and raising the awareness about export financial support possibilities during foreign economic events.

After the signing ceremony, Belarusbank was given a certificate of accession to the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

MINSK, 2 July (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has sent greetings to his compatriots as the country celebrates Independence Day, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian leader.

“For every Belarusian this day carries a special meaning. Our more than 1,000-year history has been marked with constant struggle of people for their land, spiritual values and self-determination. Even after the sovereign Republic of Belarus emerged on the world map, the country has constantly had to defend the right to an independent path of development,” the message of greetings reads.

Aleksandr Lukashenko called it symbolic that the country's main holiday is also the day when Belarus was liberated from Nazi invaders. “The Great Victory saved us from annihilation. We honor the feat of the generation of victors who overcame a formidable enemy and who rebuilt the country out of ruins," the head of state said.

“Today, the Republic of Belarus is an established independent state where every citizen can reach any heights in profession, art, sport, social and family life. We will continue to strengthen our sovereignty and build the future of the country on the principles of justice, equality and care for people,” the Belarusian leader noted.

The president also wished his compatriots strong health, well-being and peaceful sky over their heads.

On the eve of Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus, 37 mothers of many children in the Minsk region were awarded the Order of the Mother. The presentation of valuable awards took place within the walls of the National Library.

Women are unique. They mastered the profession of drivers and pilots, win medals at world championships, and head enterprises and organizations. But their main achievement is motherhood.

Moms invited to the solemn event realized themselves in this role more than once: they gave birth and bring up five and more children. And everyone was surrounded by love, care and attention. And this is a serious work that does not know weekends and holidays, does not accept sick leave and fatigue.

“In our country, much attention is paid to issues of motherhood and childhood. The provision of housing, the provision of family capital, assistance in raising and educating children, solving everyday problems for large families - all of this is under the constant control of the Head of State and the entire vertical of the executive branch,” said Alexander Turchin, chairman of Minsk Oblast Executive Committee, addressing mothers. - And it brings a good result. The number of large families is increasing. Now in the Minsk region there are almost 19 thousand of them, more than 60 thousand children are being brought up in them.”

The head of the central region emphasized that the maternal mission is second to none. The choice in favor of a large and strong family is a crucial step requiring tremendous spiritual and physical strength. Growing up, giving a decent education, as the people say, “put on the feet” of five or more children, is a real female feat that deserves a high sign of maternal valor. That is why the President of the Republic of Belarus decided to award the Order of the Mother.

Along with the words of gratitude, Alexander Turchin presented the mothers with many children with well-deserved awards, which are confirmation of their high maternal qualities and gratitude for the upbringing of new citizens of our country.

In response, on behalf of all the mothers, a resident of the Minsk region Kristina Yanchiy spoke. She sincerely thanked for the support provided to large families in Belarus and promised to raise true patriots of our Motherland.

Olga Rodevich, mother of five children from Berezino, agrees with her. “Thanks to the support of the state, we built a house where each child has his own room and this is a great happiness. Did I plan to become a mother of many children? Of course, after all, she herself grew up in a large family, Olga shared. - Is it difficult? It's not always the same. But I am a teacher by education, and it helps a lot. Children are the most valuable gift. From childhood we accustom ourselves to work and mutual assistance.”

After the award ceremony, an open dialogue took place during which mothers with many children talked with the head of the region and asked Alexander Turchin exciting questions.

And in the evening they will take part in a ceremony with the participation of the President, which will be held in the Palace of the Republic.

MINSK, 1 July (BelTA) – Minsk National Airport has reopened for passenger traffic, BelTA learned from the press service of the airport.

“A flight of the Lufthansa airline arrived at Minsk National Airport on 1 July, the first one after a long break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous Lufthansa passenger flight to the Belarusian capital took place on 18 March. The Embraer E-190 was greeted with a water salute upon landing, which is a tradition in international aviation,” the press service said.

In July, Lufthansa plans to operate three Frankfurt-Minsk-Frankfurt flights a week (on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). In August, the number of weekly flights will increase to five. “The German airline launched regular flights to Minsk in 1992 and was one of the first European airlines to enter the Belarusian air transportation market,” the press service added.

The representatives of the airport noted that Turkish Airlines has also resumed flights on the Istanbul-Minsk-Istanbul route. In July, it will operate four flights a week.

BelTA reported earlier that the Belarusian air carrier Belavia has started operating charter flights. The schedule already includes flights to Albania, Turkey, and Egypt. The company also intends to launch charter flights to Tunisia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bulgaria.

MINSK, 1 July (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has signed an executive order on additional measures designed to address topical issues in the population's life, the press service of the Belarusian leader told BelTA.

The document contains measures designed to address the most topical issues raised in the course of collecting voter signatures in support of nominating Aleksandr Lukashenko as a presidential candidate.

The measures target various spheres, including civil engineering, housing and utilities industry, transport, power engineering, employment and social security, healthcare, education, and retail.

The document also reflects the instructions on building homes for military personnel that the head of state gave when he visited Brest Oblast on 22 June.

Reports on fulfilling the executive order will be presented every quarter. The population will be properly informed about the resolution of topical issues. The State Control Committee and the Belarus President Administration will oversee the fulfillment of the executive order.

BelTA has acquired a copy of the document. The Council of Ministers in association with the oblast administrations and the Minsk City Executive Committee has been instructed to implement measures in a number of areas.

Civil engineering, housing and utilities industry, transport, and power engineering

- develop and approve a program on substantially increasing the use of electricity for heating, hot water supply, and cooking, including the expansion of preferential terms for consumers that use electricity to heat their homes or dachas;

- ensure the enabling of the most favorable conditions taking into account world experience for the sake of universal adoption of electric transport in the country;

- improve the procedure for collecting road tax from Belarusian motorists while separating the procedure from the state vehicle safety and emissions inspection procedure;

- ensure timely repairs of streets and roads, the development of road infrastructure, motorway service outlets, beautification of areas, and an integral approach to the replacement of utility systems and beautification features in populated localities, close attention should be paid to construction work near residential houses;

- take into account interests of citizens as much as possible for planning public transport lines;

- organize refurbishment of residential houses in a timely manner;

- ensure proper quality of drinking water, steady water supply, wastewater recycling.

Trade industry

- step up control over prices on the consumer market;

- immediately respond to unwarranted price hikes.

Employment and social security

- put efforts into resolving population employment problems;

- take effective measures to raise salaries in organizations with a low level of labor remuneration;

- maintain effective control over the timely payment of salaries;

- ensure the growth of salaries by means of creating new high-performance jobs.

Healthcare

- continue further implementation of systemic measures to render affordable and quality medical aid to the population;

- ensure the availability of the necessary medications and control over unwarranted price hikes for medications.

Education

- consider the possibility of changing the format of university admission exams for some professions, including easier admission for school graduates with employer-sponsored education contracts;

- consider granting admission preferences to applicants with employer-sponsored education contracts, who seek training for agricultural jobs;

- consider the organization of professional training to acquire the most needed agricultural professions (tractor drivers, milking equipment operators, and other ones) in secondary schools.

Monetary management (in association with the central bank)

- make loans for housing construction and housing acquisition more affordable for all categories of citizens;

- enable cash withdrawal using bank plastic cards and ATMs, including in rural areas.

The executive order also contains specific instructions focusing on various regions. The Council of Ministers and the oblast administrations will be in charge of fulfilling them.

In Brest Oblast

- overhaul and modernize the surgery wing of the Malorita District Hospital;

- build schools and kindergartens in Kobrin and Stolin, a secondary school in the Borovki-2 microdistrict in Baranovichi, and a children daycare center in Zhabinka.

In Vitebsk Oblast

- work out and approve a set of measures to develop Polotsk District in the period till 2025;

- open an infection department in the Polotsk Central Hospital;

- finish the construction of a physical training and recreation complex in Chashniki;

- ensure proper accommodation conditions for kids in the summer camp Yunost of the Lukoml State District Power Plant branch of the Vitebsk Oblast energy company RUP Vitebskenergo.

In Gomel Oblast

- finish the construction of the first stage of the ice palace project in Svetlogorsk;

- open a shop in the agrotown of Yanovo, Vetka District;

- finish the construction of a school in microdistrict No.21 in Gomel.

In Grodno Oblast

- ensure the construction of backup wells, water supply lines, and water deferrization stations in the agrotown of Parkhimovtsy, Berestovitsa District;

- take the necessary measures to reconstruct wastewater treatment facilities, modernize the main sewerage pump stations, reconstruct and build sewage pipes in Lida;

- build a physical training and recreation complex in Slonim.

In Minsk Oblast

- build a children daycare center and a school in Fanipol as well as a school in Stolbtsy;

- build a physical training and recreation complex in Dzerzhinsk;

- build children daycare centers in Lyuban, the agrotown of Mikhanovichi, and the town of Druzhny;

- build a kindergarten and a beginner school in microdistrict No.11 in Molodechno;

- build a new clinic wing of the Nesvizh District Central Hospital;

- build a physical training and recreation complex with a swimming pool in Staryye Dorogi and a swimming pool in Uzda.

In Mogilev Oblast

- do repair and restoration work to preserve the palace and park complex in the village of Zhilichi, Kirovsk District;

- build radiology wing No.3 in the Mogilev Oblast Early Cancer Detection and Treatment Center and an infection wing in Mogilev Hospital No.1;

- build a southwestern bypass road of Mogilev;

- build a school with a swimming pool and a kindergarten with a swimming pool in microdistrict No.7 in Bobruisk.

In association with the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee and the Minsk City Executive Committee

- implement a set of measures to switch Minsk to water supply only from underground sources.

Apart from that, the executive order instructs to work out and approve by the end of 2020 a government program on accomplishing military towns run by the Defense Ministry for the 2021-2025 period.

By the end of 2021 the Brest City Executive Committee will have to plan and finish the construction of a stadium for the 38th Independent Guards Air Assault Brigade using extrabudgetary sources and a residential house for Brest garrison military personnel via a shared-equity construction scheme.

The oblast administrations and the Minsk City Executive Committee are instructed to provide army personnel with state-owned rented apartments in line with Article 111 of the Housing Code.

MINSK, 1 July – The agreements on visa facilitation and readmission between Belarus and the European Union entered into force on 1 July, BelTA reports.

In line with the agreement on visa facilitation, the cost of a short-term Schengen visa for Belarusians has dropped to €35. The agreement also provides for a possibility to waive visa fees for certain categories of applicants. In addition to that, the maximum fee charged by visa application centers for facilitating visa processes has also been reduced, so has the period during which consulates should process visa applications.

Several groups of Belarusian nationals will be able to apply for multiple-entry visas with a longer period of validity (up to five years). The agreement simplifies the documentation which needs to be presented by certain categories of citizens.

Once the readmission agreement comes into force, Belarus and the European Union will have to readmit their own citizens, third-country nationals, and stateless persons, who do not meet or no longer meet the requirements to legally stay in each other's territory. The document provides for a two-year transition period in respect of the readmission of third-country nationals. The joint declaration attached to the readmission agreement obliges the European Union to provide technical and financial assistance to Belarus in this field.

The agreements on visa facilitation and readmission were signed in Brussels on 8 January 2020. The documents were ratified by the National Assembly of Belarus and endorsed by the European Parliament.

The visa facilitation agreement is expected to make mutual travel easier, to promote international contacts and tourism, and to strengthen trust and mutual understanding between peoples.

Allocation of land, major repairs of a residential building, improvement of the road, creation of a barrier-free environment at the place of residence. Residents of the central region voiced these and other problematic issues today, on July 1, at a personal reception at the chairman of Minsk Oblast Executive Committee, Alexander Turchin, which took place in a telephone conversation.

A resident of the Velichkovichi agricultural town of Soligorsk region, Alexander Ilyich, appealed to the head of the region for assistance in allocating a land plot to his peasant farm OJSC “Agrofirm Krasnaya Niva”. “Now in my use of 21 hectares of land where cereals are grown, I would like to increase the allotment by at least the same amount, and if possible, by 100 hectares. I can’t find mutual understanding with local authorities, if they offer some kind of site, it’s difficult to process. And I want to develop my enterprise, get a good result. ” Alexander Turchin noted that in such a case it is impossible to put obstacles to people. Therefore, until October 1, when the autumn field work ends, 20 hectares of land will be allocated to the farmer. But with the condition: productivity and efficiency of their use should be higher than the average for the region.

Irina Konstantinovna from Slutsk outlined a problem that worries all residents of a 4-apartment apartment building on Sovetskaya Street. Since 2012, it has been on the balance sheet of OJSC Slutsk cheese-making plant. As the woman said, the house is almost 60 years old, but there has never been a major overhaul in it, although tenants regularly pay money for these purposes. Due to the lack of blind areas and plums, mold constantly appears on the walls. Equally worrisome are cracks in ceilings in apartments. The head of the region promised that by October 1 a major overhaul in the house will be completed. He also recommended residents to switch to service in the housing and communal services.

The owner of ODO “Discrete Market” Alexey Valerievich wants to get an additional land plot adjacent to the functioning shopping center of the company on Sovetskaya Street in Zaslavl. “I plan to use it for the construction of parking spaces and improvement of the adjacent territory, but have not yet received permission, since there is the production and warehouse base of the Mingaz Unitary Enterprise. We offered the company to buy their land, but, as I understand it, they are considering it for other construction, in particular residential buildings. Meanwhile, we want to reconstruct the shopping center, expand its functionality and bring it closer to the level of the capital. Help in resolving the issue. " Alexander Turchin noted that the issue will be worked out in detail. It is necessary to analyze which object I really need now. I will glorify it and build on this. It is important that the conditions in the satellite city are close to metropolitan.

In total, 20 people made an appointment with the head of the region. The questions that have been voiced are put under control. Each of them will have to be worked out individually and give people justified answers about the decisions made.