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A regular meeting of the CSTO Defense Ministers Council was held in Dushanbe on 27 April. The day before, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon met with the defense ministers of the CSTO member states, BelTA has learned from the press service of the Defense Ministry.
The parties discussed regional security and cooperation within the CSTO Defense Ministers Council. The parties also exchanged views on the challenges and threats to military security and measures to neutralize them.
According to Belarus' Defense Minister Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin, the main sources of threats to the CSTO member states are the activities of Western states to build up coalition and national military capabilities and active expansion of the U.S. military presence in Europe, the unresolved armed conflicts, primarily in Syria and Afghanistan, the persistently high level of international terrorism and religious extremism.
The ministers also highlighted the most pressing problems of the Eastern European region: a large-scale information war, the destructive activities of the West to destabilize the situation in the post-Soviet space, unresolved conflicts and color revolutions.
Viktor Khrenin briefed his colleagues on the actions of the Belarusian opposition, who, under the supervision of their Western handlers, attempted to overthrow the constitutional order in Belarus and organize a coup d'etat through the physical removal of the top officials.
“The parties exchanged the views on military security issues in the regions of responsibility of the CSTO and made decisions on the further development of the military dimension of the CSTO,” the ministry said.
Masherov Vitebsk State University will play host to the 6th International Scientific and Practical Conference “Topical Issues of Source Studies” on 23-24 April, head of the department of history and cultural heritage of Masherov Vitebsk State University, candidate of historical sciences Anatoly Dulov told BelTA.
The Vitebsk conference is held every two years. Today it is one of the largest and most representative scientific events in the field of source studies in the post-Soviet space. About 200 researchers from educational institutions and research centers of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia and Poland will take part in the conference, which will be held online and offline this year.
The conference will highlight a wide range of issues related to theory, history and research practices of source studies, archival and museum source studies. Participants will also discuss the topics of source historiography and the treatment of sources of general and national history from antiquity to the present day. The thematic block of the conference will be represented by reports devoted to sources of personal origin. The regional block will include materials characterizing the sources of the history of relations between the Belarusian lands and the state of the German order in Prussia and Livonia in the 13th-16th centuries.
The program of the forum will include a presentation of the collection of archival documents and materials “Without Statute of Limitations. Belarus: Crimes of the Nazis and their accomplices against the civilian population on the occupied territory of the BSSR during the Great Patriotic War. Vitebsk Oblast” and the monograph “The Republic of Belarus in the integration processes in the post-Soviet space” by candidates of historical sciences, associate professors Aleksandr Kosov and Denis Yurchak. There will also be an hour of memory for Viktor Taranevsky (1954-2020), Belarusian literary critic, translator and researcher of the 17th century noblemen's memoirs, Vitebsk chronicle and Mogilev chronicle.
The conference is organized by Masherov Vitebsk State University, Belarusian State University, the National Institute of Higher School, St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the V. N. Karazin Kharkov National University and the State Archive of Vitebsk Oblast. The scientific forum will be supported by the Smolensk Regional Public Organization of the Russian Union of Youth.
A ceremony to award the winners of the international exhibition and competition Days of Design 2021 and to open an exhibition of their works will take place in the exhibition hall of the Faculty of Art and Graphics of Masherov Vitebsk State University on 22 April, BelTA learned from the university.
This year, the event went international, because it featured works by teachers, undergraduate and postgraduate students of almost 20 universities and colleges of Belarus, Russia, Latvia, and Moldova.
A jury consisting of professional designers from Brest, Vitebsk, Moscow, and New York reviewed works in several categories, such as identica, logo animation, interior design, exterior design, character, object d'art, and others, Masherov Vitebsk State University noted.
The organizers of the contest received 240 applications. Not all of them were shortlisted for the competition, but most of the works met the requirements and competed for prizes. The jury selected three best works in each category. Special diplomas will also be awarded to authors of two works that stand our thanks to their originality.
Belarus exports more than 70% of its gross domestic product, and full membership in the World Trade Organization is in our interests, Yuri Gorelik, director of the department of foreign economic activities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, told the media in Vitebsk on 21 April, BelTA has learned.
Now Belarus is negotiating with five countries - the United States, the EU (as a single trade and economic bloc), Ukraine, New Zealand and Canada. Bilateral negotiations are expected to complete during this year. "The second task is to negotiate our multilateral commitments. At the moment we have agreed almost half of the commitments. We are still negotiating others," Yuri Gorelik said.
According to him, by joining the WTO the country will adapt its legislation to the best world practices and remove regulatory barriers. “It is important that local authorities raise awareness of economic entities and maybe the population of the importance of the WTO for Belarus. We export more than 70% of our gross domestic product, and full membership in the organization is in our interest. It is important that there is predictability in foreign markets and that we have the ability to defend our interests when they are violated using this international platform," the director of the department said.
Last year, Belarus' exports amounted to $29 billion, down by 11.2%. The main reasons for this, in addition to the pandemic, were difficulties with the supply of Russian oil and the fall in prices for potash fertilizers. In Vitebsk Oblast, many industries are export-oriented, some companies supply 99% of their output abroad.
The information campaign "WTO Weeks in Belarus 2021" kicked off in Vitebsk on 21 April. A series of regional roundtables with the business community on Belarus' accession to the WTO will be held in all regions of the country. During a videoconference with Vitebsk Oblast experts talked about customs and tariff protection of Belarusian producers, access of Belarusian goods to the markets of third countries, promotion of export of services within the framework of the country's accession to the WTO.
A center for supporting technologies and innovations has been established in the Vitebsk State Medical University. The relevant agreement was signed by the university's Prorector for Science and Research Sergei Sushkov and Director General of the National Center of Intellectual Property Vladimir Ryabovolov on 20 April, BelTA has learned.
The center will allow university personnel and students to more easily search for information about existing scientific accomplishments. It will enable access to patent databases and non-patent databases of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the National Center of Intellectual Property, and other free information resources in the sphere of intellectual property.
The establishment of centers designed to support technologies and innovations in Belarus is supposed to help involve young Belarusians into the innovation process and improve the system of intellectual property protection and commercialization. Chairman of the State Science and Technology Committee Aleksandr Shumilin told reporters: “By the end of the year we intend to open three more centers based on universities in Pinsk, Polotsk, and the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics. Belarusians are a talented nation. We create a lot of innovations, R&D products and it is necessary to properly protect them and commercialize them. It is also important to have access to the world's cutting-edge research, science and technology endeavors. We intend for these centers to cover all the higher education institutions in the country.”
In his words, the operation of the first centers has demonstrated their services are in demand. In 2020 individuals and corporations received over 4,500 consultations regarding the formalization, protection, and transfer of rights to intellectual property assets in the technology and innovation center of the National Center of Intellectual Property alone. “We are expanding this work onto the regions. We've started with the oblast capitals and will move on to the cities where at least 80,000 people live and where there is a university. It works and produces results: while in 2018 we exported nearly $100 million worth of intellectual services, the figure reached $125 million in 2020. But Belarusians should earn so much more with their intellectual labor,” Aleksandr Shumilin added.
The creation of a network of technology and innovation centers is an international project initiated by the World Intellectual Property Organization. It is designed to bolster the innovation potential of countries and regions by enabling informational, scientific, and instructional support for users of the services of the centers in the sphere of science, R&D, and innovation. Nine such centers operate in Belarus at present: one in the national scientific and technical library, one in each of the library's regional branches, one in the Belarusian State University, another one in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone, and another one in the National Center of Intellectual Property. There are plans to open several centers in libraries of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
While in Vitebsk Chairman of the State Science and Technology Committee Aleksandr Shumilin also met with the management of OAO Vityas in order to discuss progress in implementing an innovative project, which provides for creating modern manufacturing facilities and making electric vehicle charging infrastructure components, including Mode 4 fast charging stations.
Lead Clinician for Infectious Diseases (non-staff) of the Belarusian Healthcare Ministry, Doctor of Medicine, Professor, Head of the Infectious Diseases Faculty of Belarusian State Medical University Igor Karpov spoke about the importance of COVID-19 vaccination and shared his own vaccination experience in an interview with the ONT TV channel, BelTA has learned.
Igor Karpov delved into characteristic features of the mass vaccination of the population in Belarus. First of all, Belarus was quick to join the COVID-19 vaccine trials and launch the production of vaccines in the country. Its intention to start mass vaccinations as soon as possible is also noteworthy. “Belarus aims to produce a large number of vaccines – around 500,000 doses monthly. This will enable us to carry out the vaccination campaign in a short time,” he added.
Apart from healthcare workers and teachers, it is important to administer vaccines to as many elderly people as possible at the start of the vaccination campaign, Igor Karpov believes. “This is a sensitive topic. The elderly need a special approach. They have many worries: what if they run a temperature afterwards, or something like this. On the one hand, there can be a certain reaction in some cases, but there are no severe consequences. On the other hand, catching the virus itself means two or three weeks of fever even in mild cases,” he pointed out.
Igor Karpov has already received a shot of the Sputnik V vaccine. According to him, the Chinese jab is also great and causes a hyperthermic reaction less often than Sputnik V. However, the Russian jab is a so-called vector vaccine with a high efficacy (91%).
Igor Karpov recalled the disruption in vaccinations in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. It has become a textbook example of the risks of not getting a vaccine against diphtheria. Only vaccinations helped deal with the consequences. Igor Karpov expressed hope that joint efforts of the government, healthcare workers, and the entire population in the case of the coronavirus pandemic will become an example of successful vaccination.
Vitebsk bishop Aleh Butkevich has been elected Chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Belarus. Minsk has played host to a plenary session of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Belarus (CCBB) to mark the 30th anniversary of the restoration of the Catholic Church structures in Belarus, BelTA learned from the website of the Archdiocese of Minsk and Magilev of the Roman Catholic Church.
The meeting was attended by all Belarusian bishops and Apostolic Nuncio to the Republic of Belarus, Archbishop Ante Jozic. “The main item on the agenda of the meeting was the election of a new chairman. As a result of the voting, Bishop Aleh Butkevich of Vitebsk was elected new chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Belarus,” the statement reads.
Bishop Aleksander Kaszkiewicz of Grodno was elected deputy chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Belarus. Auxiliary bishop of Grodno diocese Iosif Staneuski was elected general secretary of the organization.
The participants of the meeting discussed the organization of the Budslau festival this year. It was decided that the traditional celebrations in the National Sanctuary of the Mother of God of Budslau will take place on 2-3 July in the same format as last year, with the observance of sanitary regulations and without organized pilgrimages. Those who wish may make pilgrimages individually.
The state program Roads of Belarus 2021-2025 was approved by the Council of Ministers' Resolution No.212 of 9 April 2021, BelTA learned from the National Legal Internet Portal.
The program is designed to improve the transport and operational condition of public roads through increased investment in transport infrastructure to meet the needs of the economy and society in transport links.
The program includes two sub-programs: National Roads (to improve the transport and operational condition, as well as to improve the quality of national roads) and Local Roads (to improve the condition of local roads).
According to the first sub-program, plans are in place to repair and reconstruct some 809,6 km of national highways, increase the carrying capacity of their pavement up to 11,5 tonnes per axis and increase the speed limit along some 1,780 kilometers. There are plans to reconstruct and build 509.6 kilometers of such roads, including 272.7 kilometers according to the parameters of the first category, and almost 8,200 linear meters of road structures on these roads.
As for the measures of the second subprogram, it is planned to carry out works on maintenance of their transport and operational indicators on local roads, to repair, reconstruct and build some 7,000 kilometers of such roads, some 138 kilometers of them using new technologies. The plans also include repair and reconstruction of 137 road structures with the length of about 4,200 linear meters.
The program implementation will require Br10,552,470,504.8.
The decree comes into force after its official publication, and shall apply to relations arising from 1 January 2021.
Early spring cereals and leguminous crops (excluding corn, buckwheat, and millet) have been sown on 52.9% of the target area in Belarus, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry.
As of 12 April early spring crops were planted on the area of 390,000ha. Progress in sowing these crops reached 76.6% in Grodno Oblast, 74.8% in Gomel Oblast, 50.7% in Minsk Oblast, 23% in Mogilev Oblast, and 10.2% in Vitebsk Oblast. The early spring crops sowing in Brest Oblast was completed.
Soil for sowing early spring cereals and leguminous crops was tilled on the area of 532,500ha (72.2% of the target area). This year these crops are supposed to occupy 737,100ha.
Flax was sown on the area of 6,980ha or 14.1% of the plan, sugar beet was sown on the area of 9,700ha or 10.7% of the plan.
Belarus has started testing its power grid and disconnected cross-border power lines with Lithuania, BelTA learned from the Energy Ministry of Belarus.
“The tests are meant to check the reliability of the Belarusian energy system taking into account the planned exit of the Baltic states' power grids from the BRELL system that unites Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,” the statement reads.
The testing program that is going to last for 24 hours provides for the disconnection of high-voltage lines, monitoring of the power grid operation and activation of high-voltage lines in compliance with the necessary safety requirements.
Similar tests will be carried out on 11 April.
These works will be performed as part of the program agreed on with the energy grid operators of Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (BRELL countries).
