MINSK, 20 April (BelTA) – Belarus continues to be a reliable partner for the countries of the region, Doctor of Historical Sciences Andrei Rusakovich, the head of the diplomatic and consular service chair of the Faculty of International Relation at Belarusian State University, said at the roundtable meeting “25 years of participation of Belarus in the European Cultural Convention” in Minsk on 19 April, BelTA has learned.
Andrei Rusakovich highlighted the historical and cultural aspects of the development of Belarus' foreign political identity. He talked about the formation and development of the statehood and culture of Belarus, its foreign policy traditions and the difficulties the country faced when building its statehood on the new principles of political development after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Among the important foreign policy aspects of the Belarusian development model Andrei Rusakovich named the commitment to the principles of international law, multi-pronged approach, nuclear-weapon-free status, striving for neutrality, participation in the Eurasian integration, development of the partnerships including with the EU, China and other integration associations and states. Andrei Rusakovich believes it was important that in the context of the crisis around Ukraine Belarus acted as a reliable partner of the countries of the region and hosted the talks on easing the tensions.
The roundtable meeting “25 years of participation of Belarus in the European Cultural Convention” was attended by the Council of Europe's Director General for Democracy Snezana Samardzic-Markovic. She is in Belarus on a visit. The event discussed a wide range of issues: cooperation between Belarus and the Council of Europe in the field of culture, the development of people's diplomacy, the use of the educational component of the European Cultural Convention in the Belarusian universities, the development of the institute of cultural diplomacy, the experience of holding the European Heritage Days in Belarus, the application of the European Cultural Convention within the framework of people's diplomacy.
The roundtable meeting was organized by the Belarusian Culture Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Belarusian Society of Friendship and Cultural Ties with foreign Countries, Belarusian State University and other agencies. The event was hosted by in the Modern Belarusian Statehood Museum in Minsk.
The European Cultural Convention was adopted in Paris in 1954 with a view to developing mutual understanding among the peoples of Europe and reciprocal appreciation of their cultural diversity, safeguarding European culture, promoting national contributions to Europe's common cultural heritage respecting the same fundamental values.
