MINSK, 3 April (BelTA) – A photo exhibition/presentation about the 2nd European Games in Minsk kicked off in the United Nations headquarters in New York. The event took place in the run-up to the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace marked on 6 April, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Addressing the attendees was George Katulin, Minsk European Games Organizing Committee (MEGOC) CEO, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus. The presentation sought to introduce visitors to the upcoming 2nd European Games, Belarus' tourism offerings and economic capacities, and the visa waiver for participants and fans of the 2nd European Games.
The photo exhibition was arranged by Belarus' permanent mission to the United Nations with support from the Minsk European Games Organizing Committee. Attending the opening ceremony were Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Andrei Dapkiunas, UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov, representatives of the diplomatic corps in New York and the UN Secretariat. U.S. representatives were solemnly given tickets to the 2nd European Games.
Apart from that, the 52nd session of the UN Commission on Population and Development is taking place in the United Nations headquarters. Taking part in the session is Andrei Dapkiunas. He was one of panelists of a high-level interactive panel. On behalf of the European region he presented key findings of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in the region of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. He also spoke about major demographic challenges facing the region and ways to overcome them by the example of Belarus.
According to the diplomat, the prevailing trends in the region of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe include a low birthrate and population ageing. He informed participants of the panel discussion that Belarus is running a special national program for elderly people. For example, last year the country embarked on drafting an active ageing strategy. It is designed to create conditions for social integration of elderly people and fulfillment of their human potential.
“The Belarusian deputy foreign minister deems it necessary to approach the low birthrate issue in a comprehensive way, citing Belarus' policy to encourage higher birthrates. Andrei Dapkiunas emphasized the need to link the efforts to implement the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development with the 2030 Agenda,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed.
During the visit to the UN headquarters the Belarusian diplomat met with UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov. The parties discussed organization and conduct of a high-level international conference on combating international terrorism using new and emerging technologies. This forum is to take place in Minsk in early September 2019.
