MINSK, 25 August (BelTA) – State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Aleksandr Volfovich has visited the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research (BISR), BelTA learned from the State Secretariat of the Security Council.
During the meeting with the BISR staff, the state secretary called the decision of the head of state to set up this national think tank in February 2019 timely and wise. “The efforts to foster social, economic and political development of the country need all-round intellectual support amidst high uncertainty, deliberate distortion of information and purposeful manipulation of public opinion,” Aleksandr Volfovich said.
During a relatively short history, the think tank has come to play an appreciable role in the system of public administration, it has successfully incorporated into the academic and expert community of the country. BISR has grown to become a successful communicator of the government policy in traditional and new mass media and in the internet. In the context of the growing demand for quality analysis, and not for pseudo-analysis, the think tank has managed to put together a highly professional pool of new opinion leaders and has got actively involved in communicating objective information to the public.
“By contributing their opinions to the printed press and online media outlets, participating in open discussions and round tables, leading analysts of the institute contribute to the formation of a positive agenda, build effective communication between the state and the public. This allows keeping the finger on the pulse, identifying emerging risks and challenges. The institute has advanced in establishing partnerships with think tanks from Russia and other countries of the post-Soviet space, and also from China, India and other countries. This work is particularly important in the face of unrelenting sanctions pressure, when the so-called analytical or expert diplomacy retains a window of opportunity for delivering objective and reliable information about the events in Belarus,” the Security Council chief said.
Aleksandr Volfovich welcomed successful interaction of BISR with the State Secretariat of the Security Council, primarily in the study of topical issues of national security.
Aleksandr Volfovich expressed confidence that the development of think tanks similar to BISR facilitates a broader involvement of experts in identifying vulnerabilities in the society and finding the most optimal ways to address problematic issues.
“Such think tanks are one of the tools to intellectualize the society where analytics should become an additional impetus for sustainable development and shaping the image of the future of Belarus,” Aleksandr Volfovich emphasized.
After the meeting with the BISR team in a round table format, Aleksandr Volfovich held a narrow meeting with the BISR management and leading analysts to discuss risks and challenges to national security in the context of plans to update the national security concept.
A separate topic was the situation in Afghanistan and its impact on the security of the CSTO member states. “At the extraordinary session of the CSTO Collective Security Council held by videoconference the other day, the heads of the CSTO member states assessed the situation in the region. The Western coalition troops left Afghanistan, but the long-standing problems of this country remained. Unfortunately, the threats of terrorism and extremism, illegal migration, drug production and trafficking to the post-Soviet space remain. The situation is not easy, but manageable. The CSTO has all the necessary resources to normalize the situation. As the head of state noted, the member states should first of all work out a common position and act together to normalize the situation and prevent new threats,” Aleksandr Volfovich added.
