MINSK, 4 November (BelTA) – A large-scale rotation of Belarusian diplomats working abroad is in the works, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksim Ryzhenkov told reporters following his meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 4 November, BelTA has learned.
He pointed out that many countries rotate diplomatic personnel. This is done primarily to prevent diplomats from falling under the influence of a host country.
“Every person is exposed to powerful information impact in a host country, thus becoming more receptive to certain ideas, interests, expectations... First of all, it is very important for diplomats not to lose sight of things. Secondly, a diplomat should not start looking at bilateral relations through the perspective of the other side instead of ours. This is not very good even in relations with friendly countries…,” the foreign minister remarked.
At the same time, Maksim Ryzhenkov emphasized that he is not hand-picking a team based on his own preferences: “I will not say that four months in office have led me to the conclusion that something needs to be radically changed [in terms of personnel]. But rotation has always been one of the main principles of the diplomatic service. This principle is used not only by our country, but everywhere else in the world.”
According to him, the time has come for some ambassadors to return home. And this is not at all because they have done a poor job, but because enough time has passed, they have fulfilled their potential and now it is time to get new experience and learn something new, to broaden their horizons and apply their skills in Belarus. There are many examples when diplomats continue their careers in the MFA and in the public administration system.
The minister has not revealed any names and host countries. “The appointment to diplomatic posts of this level requires a number of certain procedures, first of all, obtaining an agrément from a host country. Therefore, it would be premature to name appointees before a host country notifies us that it is ready to consider such a person as our ambassador,” the foreign minister continued.
According to him, specific candidates were discussed at the meeting with the head of state, each was considered from the point of view of professional qualities. “The president delved deep into all aspects, his attitude towards people is very respectful, he warned against losing competent specialists or creating some kind of insecurities in someone,” said Maksim Ryzhenkov. He specified that the level of patriotism of the proposed candidates was also assessed: “In fact, today, loyalty to one's country, one's people comes to the forefront. This is an important factor. Therefore, we also looked at the candidates from this point of view, from a certain angle.”
However, the conversation with the head of state went far beyond the personnel matters, Maksim Ryzhenkov noted. The meeting discussed the international agenda, the organization of meetings and events involving the president, the country's relations with the CIS states and other nations, trade and economic cooperation, redirecting of export flows, and the creation of conditions for cooperation in the manufacturing industry. According to the minister, the event went beyond the personnel topics, but was more like a ‘mini-report’ on progress in foreign trade during Maksim Ryzhenkov’s four months of work in the capacity of foreign minister.
“We are planning a fairly large personnel event in connection with new appointments in the diplomatic corps abroad. There is no emergency here, and it has nothing to do with the election... It is because some time ago the rotation process got stalled, and now we need to appoint a significant number of people,” the foreign minister remarked.
“Every person is exposed to powerful information impact in a host country, thus becoming more receptive to certain ideas, interests, expectations... First of all, it is very important for diplomats not to lose sight of things. Secondly, a diplomat should not start looking at bilateral relations through the perspective of the other side instead of ours. This is not very good even in relations with friendly countries…,” the foreign minister remarked.
At the same time, Maksim Ryzhenkov emphasized that he is not hand-picking a team based on his own preferences: “I will not say that four months in office have led me to the conclusion that something needs to be radically changed [in terms of personnel]. But rotation has always been one of the main principles of the diplomatic service. This principle is used not only by our country, but everywhere else in the world.”
According to him, the time has come for some ambassadors to return home. And this is not at all because they have done a poor job, but because enough time has passed, they have fulfilled their potential and now it is time to get new experience and learn something new, to broaden their horizons and apply their skills in Belarus. There are many examples when diplomats continue their careers in the MFA and in the public administration system.
The minister has not revealed any names and host countries. “The appointment to diplomatic posts of this level requires a number of certain procedures, first of all, obtaining an agrément from a host country. Therefore, it would be premature to name appointees before a host country notifies us that it is ready to consider such a person as our ambassador,” the foreign minister continued.
According to him, specific candidates were discussed at the meeting with the head of state, each was considered from the point of view of professional qualities. “The president delved deep into all aspects, his attitude towards people is very respectful, he warned against losing competent specialists or creating some kind of insecurities in someone,” said Maksim Ryzhenkov. He specified that the level of patriotism of the proposed candidates was also assessed: “In fact, today, loyalty to one's country, one's people comes to the forefront. This is an important factor. Therefore, we also looked at the candidates from this point of view, from a certain angle.”
However, the conversation with the head of state went far beyond the personnel matters, Maksim Ryzhenkov noted. The meeting discussed the international agenda, the organization of meetings and events involving the president, the country's relations with the CIS states and other nations, trade and economic cooperation, redirecting of export flows, and the creation of conditions for cooperation in the manufacturing industry. According to the minister, the event went beyond the personnel topics, but was more like a ‘mini-report’ on progress in foreign trade during Maksim Ryzhenkov’s four months of work in the capacity of foreign minister.
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