Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

Secretary of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus Elena Baldovskaya spoke about an early voting option on the single voting day in 2024 during the round table titled Upcoming Election Campaign held in BelTA's press center.

“Early voting is carried out within five days ahead of the voting day. On 20-24 February voters who will not be able to come to the polling station on Sunday, 25 February, will be able to exercise their voting rights during the early voting period,” Elena Baldovskaya said.

The CEC secretary added that the polling stations would stay open from 12.00 to 19.00 during the early voting days.

“Voting at home will be available only on 25 February,” Elena Baldovskaya said.

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A World Radiocommunication Conference is an event that presents an opportunity to promote one's ideas, BelTA learned from First Deputy State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Pavel Muraveiko.

A World Radiocommunication Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) opened in Dubai on 20 November and will last through 15 December. There are over 30 items on the agenda. They affect virtually all the radio communication services. Belarus' interests are represented by the country's communication administration. Chairman of the State Radio Frequencies Commission, First Deputy State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Pavel Muraveiko joined the Belarusian delegation during the third week. The official took part in a number of bilateral meetings.

During the meeting with Mario Maniewicz, Director of the ITU's Radiocommunication Bureau Pavel Muraveiko noted that the World Radiocommunication Conference is a uniting event, an event where people can meet, talk, and promote their ideas. “Belarus persistently honors all the provisions of the existing agreement and will continue promoting and honoring these agreements. We thank you and the administration of the International Telecommunication Union for the technical support we've received, for consultations, personal participation and promotion, including of our interests. The matters, which are discussed at the conference, are important and interesting for us,” the official noted.

Matters concerning the usage of radio spectrum and the stance of the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications (RCC) was discussed during the meeting of Pavel Muraveiko and Valery Butenko, Chairman of the RCC's Commission on the Regulation of the Use of the Radiofrequency Spectrum and Satellite Orbits.

“The level of integration of our countries in the field of usage of the radio spectrum is rather high. Positions of Belarus' communication administration and RCC countries are rather close. We have a lot of common interests,” the first deputy state secretary of the Security Council of Belarus stressed.

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A solemn ceremony to sign a cooperation program between Minsk and Hanoi for 2024-2026 took place following Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko's meeting with Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh, BelTA has learned.

The official visit of the Belarusian prime minister to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam continues. After the wreath ceremonies at the Fallen Heroes War Memorial and the mausoleum of the first president of Vietnam, leader of the Vietnamese national liberation movement Ho Chi Minh, Roman Golovchenko held talks with Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh.

According to the chairman of Hanoi People's Committee, Vietnam and Belarus are developing bilateral relations in many areas, maintain trade and economic interaction. He also expressed the opinion that the visit of the Belarusian prime minister would further strengthen the existing ties and give a new impetus to cooperation.

“Your visit will bring a new spirit and our relations will become even warmer,” Tran Sy Thanh emphasized.

He went on saying that the cooperation program between the cities of Minsk and Hanoi for 2024-2026, the signing ceremony of which was held during the meeting, would update the previous agreement and contribute to further development of relations not only between the capital cities but between the countries in general.

Roman Golovchenko said at the meeting that Hanoi was developing dynamically being the center of political and economic life of the country. According to the Belarusian prime minister, the city is a vivid example of “what a modern metropolis and its hardworking residents can achieve under the wise leadership of the city authorities”.

“Hanoi is not just the capital of a country friendly to us, it is one of our main economic partners in Vietnam. In 2004, Minsk and Hanoi signed an agreement on friendly relations and cooperation - a basic document to develop the main areas of interaction, including in trade, economy, culture and education,” Roman Golovchenko said at the meeting with Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh.

In his words, thanks to close bilateral ties, the countries exchange official and business delegations on a regular basis. The Days of Education of Belarus were a success in Hanoi in June 2023.

“We expect not only to maintain frequent bilateral contacts but also to further expand them,” Roman Golovchenko said.

“I am convinced that constant interaction between our capital cities, first of all their business and scientific communities, will become the major driver behind interregional Belarusian-Vietnamese cooperation,” the Belarusian head of government expressed his position, adding that this was also the core of the program for the development of trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation between Minsk and Hanoi for 2024-2026, which was signed at the meeting.

Roman Golovchenko said that the program contained the main areas of cooperation, which the parties agreed to develop. However, in order to fill it with useful activities, the relevant services of Hanoi and Minsk should develop and approve annual plans of specific activities.

The meeting participants also discussed proposed ideas to fill the signed program.

On Belarus' behalf, the document was signed by Minsk First Vice Mayor Nadezhda Lazarevich.

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The lower chamber of the Russian parliament unanimously ratified a Belarusian-Russian agreement on setting up and operating combat training centers for the joint training of military personnel on 5 December, BelTA has learned.

The agreement was signed in Minsk on 28 March 2023. Belarus finished the document's ratification in July 2023. The agreement regulates the establishment and operation of combat training centers based on army units in Belarus and Russia. The agreement determines the main tasks of the centers and how the defense ministries are supposed to interact in order to provide comprehensive support for these centers.

As he presented the document for ratification, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov explained that the combat training centers are supposed to enable the joint training of military personnel. The centers will also allow the personnel to polish combat training skills in practice and improve the level of cohesion and combat training. The main tasks of the combat training centers include joint combat training, joint duties (combat duty, provisional combat duty) of military contingents of the parties to the agreement, fulfillment of other combat training tasks within the framework of joint training programs; the sharing of experience of combat employment of existing weapon systems, military and special hardware; the training of practical skills required to operate weapon systems, military and special hardware of the parties to the agreement; the unification of combat training of the Belarusian army and the Russian one.

The agreement expects foreign military contingents to respect sovereignty and observe the legislation of the host country, to refrain from any actions, which are incompatible with provisions of the agreement, and not to interfere with domestic affairs of the host country.

The defense ministries of Belarus and Russia have been authorized to implement the agreement. They are vested with the authority to make decisions on setting up specific combat training centers and on operating them.

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Belarusian Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Andrei Khudyk held bilateral talks with Prof. Ibrahim Adam El Dukhiri, the Director General of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), BelTA learned from the press service of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection.

The parties discussed the ways of deepening cooperation in the field of environmental protection and rational use of natural resources within the framework of the roadmap for cooperation between Belarus and the international organization.

To ensure effective interaction and implementation of the roadmap, the parties decided to appoint contact persons in the Belarusian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development.

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Belarusian CEC Chairman Igor Karpenko met with CEC Chairperson Ella Pamfilova of Russia in St. Petersburg on 30 November, BelTA has learned.

"We consider the interaction of the electoral bodies of Belarus and Russia as a productive form of studying and analyzing the modern electoral process and democratic procedures. Thus we enrich the professional knowledge and learn the best practices, discuss significant electoral issues, develop standards, improve the methodology of international observation and criteria for assessing the results of elections, and work out a joint position in the international arena," Igor Karpenko said.

Belarus and Russia are connected at the genetic level, the roots of which go way back to the East Slavic ethnos, Igor Karpenko noted. "We share a common history, culture, mentality. We also share the heritage of constitutional and electoral law from the Novgorod, Pskov and Polotsk veche traditions to modern parliamentarism and local self-government," he stressed.

Igor Karpenko invited Russian CEC head Ella Pamfilova to take part in the observation of the local and parliamentary elections on the single voting day on 25 February 2024.

Igor Karpenko also met with the Secretary General - Head of the Secretariat of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly Council Dmitry Kobitsky at the Tauride Palace.

Igor Karpenko briefed Dmitry Kobitsky about the preparations for the local and parliamentary elections on the single voting day on 25 February 2024, and also discussed the cooperation in the electoral matters. A the parties also discussed the issues related to the openness of the electoral system of Belarus during the single voting day.

Igor Karpenko informed Dmitry Kobitsky about plans to invite international observers: "The 2024 election campaign will be held in an open and transparent manner. International observers will be able to see this for themselves. After all, we primarily view international observation as a form of communication and interaction between electoral experts and professionals. This is very important from the point of view of further development, state-building and the electoral system as a whole."

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Belarusian Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Andrei Khudyk held a meeting with representatives of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom, BelTA learned from the press service of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry.

During the talks, the parties review the status of the UNIDO/GEF international technical assistance project "Regional Demonstration Project for Coordinated Management of ODS and POPs Disposal in Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia”, including the issues that arose in the framework of project to build a hazardous waste management facility at the municipal unitary company processing and disposing of toxic industrial waste in Gomel Oblast.

As a result of the meeting, the participants noted the need to set up a joint working group for projects aimed at developing cooperation within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding between the the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus.

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Director General for Command, Control and Telecommunications Centers of the emergency response service VEN 911 of the Ministry of the People's Power for Internal Relations, Justice and Peace of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Admiral Juan Carlos Oti Paituvi visited the central office of the Minsk City Police Department and was made familiar with peculiarities of operation of the public security monitoring center, the Minsk City Police Department told BelTA.

In the central office Juan Carlos Oti Paituvi was greeted by Deputy Chief of the Minsk City Police Department, Chief of Criminal Police, Colonel Maksim Gamola. The parties exchanged opinions about a broad range of matters. Among other things they shared experience of crime investigation and crime prevention.

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Minsk is set to host a meeting of the 22nd CIS Intergovernmental Timber Industry and Forestry Council on 29 November, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Forestry Ministry.

The meeting, which will be held in the Belarusian capital, will be attended by forestry ministers (deputy ministers) from six countries: representatives of Belarus, Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan in person; and representatives of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan via video conference.

The agenda of the meeting will include a wide range of issues. Among them are prevention and extinguishing of wildfires in the border areas, measures to combat illegal timber trafficking, inventory of the legal framework in forestry and timber industry.

According to the forestry ministry, the CIS Intergovernmental Council on Timber Industry and Forestry was established in 1998 to develop cooperation in the timber industry and forestry of the CIS countries. In 2023, Belarus holds the right to host the forum. First Deputy Forestry Minister of Belarus Aleksandr Dragun was has been approved as chairman of the Intergovernmental Council.

The members of the intergovernmental council will work in Belarus for three days: from 28 to 30 November. The colleagues from the CIS countries will also get familiar with the organizations of the Belarusian Forestry Ministry. The program will also feature visits to cultural and historical sites of the country.

According to the ministry, Belarus last hosted the CIS Intergovernmental Timber Industry and Forestry Council meeting in 2017.

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The upcoming Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia is a very important event, Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalya Kochanova said as she met with Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Yuri Vorobyov on 24 November, BelTA has learned.

“I would like to discuss the upcoming Forum of Regions you as co-chair of the organizing committee. I want to present to you to hear the novelties we offer this time. This is a very important event for us. We know how high the previous forum was assessed, and we ourselves witnessed that it was indeed a very high level. We have started active preparations for the next forum in the city of Vitebsk and Vitebsk Oblast. This time we want to offer two hosting cities located close to each other,” Natalya Kochanova said.

According to her, the forum of regions will be a two-day event. The first day will feature breakout sessions, and the second day - a plenary session. “Vitebsk is suggested as a venue to host the plenary session, exhibitions, concerts, the city of craftsmen. Vitebsk will be a great host, as the city hosts the Slavianski Bazaar festival every year and has the necessary experience. By the way, the event will be held during the Slavianski Bazaar. We also want to show you Polotsk. It is the country's oldest city, first mentioned in 862. The city has a lot that unites us,” she said.

“We together with Valentina Matviyenko discussed the upcoming forum and agreed that it should contribute to joint innovative development of our countries, implementation of Union State programs, and import substitution to ensure our economic security today,” Natalya Kochanova said.

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