MINSK, 23 March (BelTA) - Belarus is interested in wider cooperation with the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) in the development of public-private partnership, Belarus' UN Mission in Geneva told BelTA commenting on the 11th session of the UNECE Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships.
The Belarusian delegation was led by Pavel Utyupin, Deputy Economy Minister of the Republic of Belarus. In reviewing the Program of Work of the Committee for 2018-2019, Pavel Utyupin proposed to expand interaction with the UNECE in the provision of consultative and technical support for the development of PPPs in the Republic of Belarus, including at the regional level.
On 22 March, Pavel Utyupin met with Andrei Vasiliev, UNECE Deputy Executive Secretary to discuss the issues of the current cooperation and the prospects for further development of interaction between the Republic of Belarus and the UNECE in the field of infrastructure development, including on the principles of public-private partnership.
During the session that took place on 20-22 March, the participants considered the topical issues of financing innovation and expanding public-private partnerships (PPP) for sustainable development, examined the performance of the UNECE Team of Specialists on PPPs, and discussed the independent evaluation of the EU/UNDP project “Capacity Building in Support of PPPs in the Republic Belarus”, and also the standards and recommendations in the field of PPP currently under preparation. The Committee also discussed the results of the Conference “Laying the foundations in the UNECE region for economic integration and sustainable development towards 2030” which was held in Minsk on 26-27 October 2016. Belarus' representatives took an active part in the debate on these and other issues within the agenda of the session, held a number of working meetings and consultations with the Committee members and representatives of the UNECE secretariat.
Elections to the bureau of the Committee were held during the session. Dmitry Poladenko, Deputy Director of the Belarusian Institute for System Analysis and Information Support of the Scientific and Technical Sphere (BelISA) of the State Science and Technology Committee of the Republic of Belarus, was elected Deputy Chairman of the UNECE Committee for Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships.
