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The agenda for the second session of the 7th Belarusian People’s Congress was approved on 25 November by a corresponding resolution of its Presidium, Deputy Chairman of the Presidium Aleksandr Kosinets told journalists following the meeting of the Presidium, BelTA reports.
According to him, the meeting finalized all organizational decisions for the upcoming session, which will be held on 18 and 19 December.
On the first day, the president will deliver his Address to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly. According to the amended Constitution, such annual addresses are to be heard exclusively at sessions of the Belarusian People’s Congress.
On the second day, the session is scheduled to approve Belarus’ socioeconomic development program for 2026-2030. It will be presented by the prime minister, who will also report on the implementation of the previous five-year plan.
Aleksandr Kosinets highlighted a key change in timing: unlike previous programs, which were adopted after a five-year cycle had already begun, this socioeconomic development program is being approved just before the next cycle starts.
Other items on the agenda of the Belarusian People’s Congress include the election of a new member to its Presidium, filling the vacancy left by Konstantin Burak, who was appointed in April 2025 as Aide to the President and Inspector for Grodno Oblast. This decision will be made by secret ballot.
Furthermore, the session will consider personnel matters for the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, as well as issues related to the financing of the Congress itself.
Since 1 January 2025, Belarus has hosted 204,118 travelers from 38 countries included in the visa-waiver program, with most of them arriving from neighboring Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, BelTA learned from the State Border Committee.
“A total of 1,235,854 European residents have visited Belarus since 15 April 2022. They included 397,687 visitors from Latvia, 656,164 people from Lithuania and 128,056 visitors from Poland. On 19 July 2024 the visa-waiver program was extended to include 35 more countries. A total of 53,947 citizens of these countries have visited Belarus,” the State Border Committee informed.
The border committee also recalled that the head of state extended the visa-waiver program for citizens of 38 European countries. Foreigners will be able to come to Belarus without a visa until 31 December 2025.
Mexico’s Fatima Bosch, 25, was crowned Miss Universe 2025. The grand finale of the prestigious pageant took place in Thailand on 21 November, BelTA has learned.
The representative of Mexico was crowned by last year’s winner Victoria Kjær Theilvig from Denmark.
Completing the top five were first runner-up Praveenar Singh (29, Thailand), second runner-up Stephany Abasali (25, Venezuela), third runner-up Ahtisa Manalo (28, Philippines), and fourth runner-up Olivia Yacé (27, Ivory Coast). The competition’s top 12 also featured contestants from Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, China, and Malta.
Belarus was represented by 18-year-old Alena Kucheruk from Polotsk, the winner of Miss Belarus 2025. The Miss Universe pageant is one of the world’s most prestigious annual international beauty competitions.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko pardoned two Catholic priests convicted of serious crimes against the state, BelTA has learned.
This decision was made taking into account the intensification of contacts with the Vatican, as well as the principles of goodwill, mercy, and the Jubilee Year proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church.
In a statement published on the official website of the Roman Catholic Church, the press service of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Belarus expressed gratitude to all those who contributed to the release of the imprisoned priests: Father Genrikh Okolotovich and Father Andzej Yukhnevich.
The statement noted that thanks to the head of state and representatives of the Apostolic See, the momentum in bilateral relations based on traditional values, fraternity, religious tolerance, and respect for believers has been maintained.
The Roman Catholic Church in Belarus welcomes the positive trends in the state’s international relations and the strengthening of contacts with the Vatican.
“We are pleased with the visit of Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, special envoy of Pope Leo XIV, to Belarus in October 2025 and with the agreements reached. Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti has been a long-time friend of the Republic of Belarus, who has done a lot for the Catholic Church in our country, for the development of state-church relations and interfaith dialogue. His visit gave a positive impetus to further contacts, an important result of which was the decision of the president of the Republic of Belarus to pardon and release Catholic priests serving sentences in detention as a sign of mercy and respect for the Pope,” the statement reads.
It is stressed that direct and significant role in this process was played by Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches in the Vatican Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Apostolic Nuncio to Belarus is Ignazio Ceffalia, and Head of the Roman Catholic Church in Belarus Archdiocese Iosif Stanevsky.
The statement also noted that, in proclaiming the Jubilee Year of Christianity in 2025, Pope Francis, in his Bull of Indiction Spes non confundit (Hope does not disappoint), called for the Holy Year to be embraced as a time of forgiveness, in accordance with the Church's historic tradition.
Only freight trucks are queuing at the border to enter Poland, the State Border Committee told BelTA.
The busiest route for trucks entering the European Union is through the Polish border crossing Kukuryki (Kozlovichi on the Belarusian side) where 690 vehicles are lining up. In one day, it cleared 44% of the standard number of trucks. Thirteen trucks are waiting to enter Poland via the Bobrowniki border crossing (Berestovitsa on the Belarusian side). In one day, Poland cleared 8% of the standard number of trucks.
The State Border Committee reported that there were no queues for passenger vehicles at the EU border as of 10.00 in the morning, 19 November.
Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania Mindaugas Sinkevičius has stated that the border with Belarus is highly likely to reopen before 30 November, according to Lithuanian media reports.
The statement was made during a meeting of Lithuania’s National Security Commission, which discussed the situation with trucks stranded in Belarus.
A day earlier, Mindaugas Sinkevičius said that “the most appropriate and optimal solution that meets the interests of all carriers and companies” would be made at the National Security Commission meeting on 18 November.
The leader of the Social Democrats noted: “We are hopeful the situation will normalize, though it remains fluid. Our strategy combines consistent, on-the-ground work by forensic, border, customs, and police units with political and diplomatic steps. These are not just assumptions, but a concerted effort to prevent a similar situation from recurring.”
“We are acting from the perspective of our national policy,” Mindaugas Sinkevičius said after Poland reopened two border crossings with Belarus on 17 November.
Head of the Lithuanian Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy Remigijus Motuzas stated that the Lithuanian government would make a final decision on reopening the border with Belarus on 19 November. Vilnius is inclined to do it before the originally planned date of 30 November. Remigijus Motuzas noted that the border crisis is much more serious than previously thought. Not only Lithuanian carriers, but also Central Asia, China, and other countries are dissatisfied because supply chains are disrupted.
The Lithuanian National Road Carriers’ Association (LINAVA) believes that Belarus did not make mistakes in this situation, and that Lithuania should have caught smugglers with balloons on its own territory instead of closing the border.
Representatives of the Lithuanian and Belarusian border services are holding negotiations today regarding the situation at the border.
On 29 October the Lithuanian government authorized closing the border crossings with Belarus till 30 November. The border crossing Šalčininkai (Benyakoni on the Belarusian side) was closed to all traffic while the border crossing Medininkai (Kamenny Log on the Belarusian side) is still open to individuals, for whom exceptions have been made.
On the night of 17 November, Poland reopened the Bobrowniki and Kuźnica Białostocka border checkpoints on the border with Belarus. Poles, and above all, the entrepreneurs of the Podlaskie region, who suffered significant losses due to the border closure, are not hiding their joy. Many note that Poland has demonstrated its strength not through the decision to blockade, but precisely through the decision to reopen the border checkpoints.Meanwhile, a gloomy mood prevails in neighboring Lithuania. The authorities shut the border with Belarus without properly calculating the consequences. Due to Vilnius's actions, over a thousand trucks remain stranded on the Belarusian side. Lithuanian haulers are demanding their authorities rectify the situation, which is causing massive losses both to the transport companies and the state budget.
‘This is the driving force of our economy.’ Business in Podlaskie is reviving
"This was an independent decision and is connected to pressure from local residents,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated ahead of the reopening of the two border checkpoints with Belarus.
According to Poland's RMF24 radio, the government's decision was preceded by consultations with local authorities and businesses in the Podlaskie region, who had long called on Warsaw to restore cross-border traffic, which is crucial for the region's economy.A reminder, one of the largest border checkpoints on the Polish-Belarusian border, Kuźnica Białostocka (Bruzgi on the Belarusian side), was unilaterally closed by Poland in November 2021. This led to a significant increase in traffic and long queues at the Bobrowniki (Berestovitsa) checkpoint, which at the time remained the only functioning border checkpoint on the Belarusian-Polish section of the state border in Grodno Oblast. However, in February 2023, the Polish side closed Bobrowniki as well. Thus, not a single active border checkpoint remained in the Grodno direction.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus convened for a meeting on 14 November to discuss the upcoming Belarusian People's Congress and educational projects, BelTA has learned.
The agenda for today's meeting was formed based on the CEC's powers regarding the election of delegates to the Belarusian People's Congress, the activities of the CEC Youth Council, the outreach and awareness-raising work and international cooperation.According to the CEC, in accordance with the 2022 national referendum on amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, Section IV of the Basic Law has been supplemented with a separate chapter on the Belarusian People's Congress. For the first time in 2024, following the single voting day, the country held elections of delegates to the Belarusian People's Congress from among civil society and local Councils of Deputies. In accordance with the Constitution, the All Belarusian People's Congress has begun its work as the highest representative body of people's power.
Under current legislation, the Central Election Commission is responsible for calling elections of delegates to the Belarusian People's Congress, including to replace those who have stepped down, certifying the results and registering the elected delegates. In this regard, two items on the CEC's meeting agenda were dedicated to this topic.
New members of the Youth Council were approved at its previous meeting. the council has actively commenced its work. Today, it discussed the project “Information and Analytical Laboratory 2+2 / Simplifying the Complex” in collaboration with the Center for Public Engagement and Electoral Processes at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Belarus.
In its ongoing activities, particularly during the inter-election period, the CEC places special emphasis on outreach and awareness-raising work, strengthening international ties, and training potential election organizers.
A delegation from Belarusian Railways headed by First Deputy Head Aleksandr Khoroshevich took part in the International Exhibition and Conference ITTC 2025 (International Transport and Transit Corridors: Connectivity and Development – 2025) in Turkmenistan, BelTA learned from the press service of Belarusian Railways.
Speaking at the panel session “International Cooperation and Investment – Driving Force of Transport of the Future”, Aleksandr Khoroshevich outlined the potential of the Belarusian railway, noting the wide range of services covering every stage of the transportation process. Belarusian Railways’ infrastructure ensures the daily operation of up to 300 pairs of freight trains in various directions.
He emphasized the importance of further cooperation between Belarusian Railways and Turkmen Railways in joint projects by engaging the potential of two international transport corridors: East-West-East and North-South.
“Belarusian Railways is ready to offer its terminal infrastructure for organizing shipments along railway routes from Asia-Pacific countries toward the EU, as well as to ensure the unhindered passage of trains across Belarusian territory,” Aleksandr Khoroshevich said. He added that joint efforts with Turkmen Railways will help develop balanced solutions for new logistics routes and promising transport-transit corridors, thereby increasing freight flows to Asia-Pacific countries and, in return, to the EU and the EAEU.
During the visit, the Belarusian delegation held working meetings with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to Turkmenistan Stanislav Chepurnoy, the deputy minister of railway transport of Turkmenistan; and Secretary General of the International Coordinating Council on Trans-Eurasian Transportation Mikhail Goncharov. The parties discussed promising areas for further cooperation.
Photo courtesy of Belarusian Railways
Chairman of the State Border Committee of Belarus Konstantin Molostov has talked to reporters about the development and improvement of the border service taking into account the evolving situation, BelTA has learned.
Konstantin Molostov said: “The border service never stops getting better. We are seriously developing the system of deployment of forces and assets, reinforcing the most complicated sections of the border, including by means of setting up new units and border guard stations. The state investment program helps with that. At its expense we build new towns around border guard stations, new housing for the military personnel and their families. We are developing the system of engineering structures and barriers, the system for registering the passage of trespassers across the state border, and unmanned aviation.”
In his words, the border service gets new weapons, military hardware, and special hardware all the time. A lot of attention is paid to combat training. The chairman of the State Border Committee of Belarus pointed out that an educational border guard station had been recently commissioned at premises of the Border Service Institute. A center for training unmanned aerial vehicle specialists has been created.
“We pay a lot of attention to young Belarusians, to the development of military and patriotic clubs with a focus on the border service,” Konstantin Molostov stressed.
