Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MINSK, 27 September (BelTA) – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Maksim Ryzhenkov declared Belarus' support for the Alliance of Civilizations as he spoke at the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations, BelTA has learned.
“In today's world, full of conflicts and divisiveness, the work of the Alliance of Civilizations is important as never before. We are ready to share our experience in maintaining tolerance in society and invite you to our country to see our achievements for yourself. Belarus supports the Alliance of Civilizations as a leading platform and a practical tool for fostering dialogue and confronting unilateralism,” the foreign minister said.
He remarked that Belarus is committed to the priorities of the Alliance across five key areas: Education, Youth, Migration, Media and Women Empowerment. “These are very important matters. Their proper operationalization (practical realization) can play a crucial role in minimizing the conflict potential in the world,” the foreign minister remarked.
He touched upon some of them that are of particular importance to Belarus.
Belarus fully supports the Alliance’s efforts to engage youth in decision making. The role of youth should be properly perceived in society. It should play a peaceful role and help governments shape the national policy of the future. Only in this case young people can become real drivers of our development. In this regard the Government of Belarus involves young Belarusians in its projects. As a result, we see that they are very supportive of the national policy and cherish traditions,” Maksim Ryzhenkov said.
Belarus appreciates the efforts of the Alliance to keep the migration topic high on the agenda, as this matter is of paramount importance now. “Migration can make a positive impact on the development of any society through culture, knowledge, customs and traditions. In Belarus, we view migration from this perspective and always pay close attention to migrants,” the foreign minister noted.
However, today conflicts, wars and instability have resulted in a surge of irregular migrants trying to flee to safety. As a result, the topic of migration became increasingly politicized,” Maksim Ryzhenkov remarked.
According to him, the topic of irregular migration has been highjacked by politicians who seek to profiteer from it. “We are convinced that all issues must and can be resolved through dialogue,” the foreign minister underscored.
Another very important area of work of the Alliance is educating people and promoting sustainable progress through mass media. “At the same time mass media can be a destructive force if it distorts information and spreads fake news. Unfortunately, nowadays mass media often incites hatred and foments conflicts. We think that the Alliance should come up with a plan how to tackle fake news and make mass media more credible,” he noted.
Belarus stands ready to continue working closely with the Alliance and all members of the international community for a better and peaceful future.
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