MINSK, 3 September (BelTA) – The United Nations Organizations is very familiar with Belarus' peace initiatives, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the United Nations Valentin Rybakov told reporters on the sidelines of the international high-level conference on countering terrorism through innovative approaches and the use of new and emerging technologies in Minsk on 3 September, BelTA has learned.
According to Valentin Rybakov, the Belarusian side has used various formats and opportunities to highlight initiatives of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, including the proposal to convene a new meeting in the Helsinki-2 format where leaders of the OSCE states could discuss the most pressing issues facing the international community. “These initiatives are very well known,” the diplomat said.
Speaking at the international conference in Minsk on 3 September, the Belarusian head of state focused on global security and fight against terrorism. Valentin Rybakov noted that the participants of the conference he spoke with were impressed by the president's open and candid speech. They said that the Belarusian leader's assessment of the international security agenda was very frank and pragmatic. His stance on these matters was shared by many.
A reminder, the international forum on counter-terrorism will run through 4 September. It welcomed 66 delegations, including representatives of 55 states and also international non-government organizations and academic communities.
The forum aims to discuss multilateral efforts and develop solutions at the global, regional and national levels to combat terrorists and terrorist groups amid a wider access to and a growing complexity of applied technologies. The conference is divided into three themed sessions to discuss the misuse of new technologies and artificial intelligence by terrorists, approaches and strategies to counteract terrorist propaganda and the misuse of scientific progress.
The event, co-organized by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), is held in the follow-up to the international high-level meeting that took place in Minsk under the aegis of the OSCE in October 2018.
