-25th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea & Belarus
“Today we focus on the economy of knowledge, which role has increased massively in
the modern world. Creating an IT country is our ambitious yet achievable goal. By
accomplishing it, we will make Belarus even more modern and prosperous, we will allow
Belarusians to confidently look into the future”, said Belarus President Alexander
Lukashenko in his speech during the solemn assembly held on 1 July on the occasion
of Belarus’ Independence Day this year.
Reflecting his country President's remarks, Belarus Amb. Andrei Popkov to the Republic
of Korea also spared many part of his speeches on stellar performances with Korea
during last 25 years since diplomatic ties in the fields of IT, E-government, science
technology and education among others through a commemorative reception, held in
a hotel Seoul on July 28th evening to fete the National Day of the Republic of Belarus
as well as the 25th anniversary of the establishing diplomatic relations between Korea
and Belarus.
Accordingly, the inauguration ceremony of Belarus-Korea IT Cooperation Center was held in Minsk, Belarus on March 28th this year and
E-government field's human power exchange, joint research, and policy support
cooperation etc. were concluded with MOU between the two countries on April 26th,
according to Popkov.
When establishing Belarus informatization development strategies during 2016-22, Belarus reflected Korea's experiences and Minister Sergei Popkov of Belarus
Communications Informatization Ministry mentioned that Belarus is eager to learn
Korea's experiences, a worldwide IT powerhouse, according to Korean Embassy in Belarus.
As is widely known, Minsk emerges as an economic hub of Eurasian region currently.
At this important juncture, it seems to be very timely that Belarus officially concluded
a Joint Statement with the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy from the Republic of
Korea regarding the commencement of FTA negotiations of Korea-Eurasia economic bloc on April 10th.
In a meeting with KTNET delegation from Korea as well on June 9th at Minsk, Deputy
Prime Minister Mr. Vladimir I. Semashko said Belarus sincerely hopes Korea's assistance
which posesses profound experiences in e-governement field because Belarus' ICT
development is a priority agenda of Belarus government.
When general public will think of Belarus, the Chernobyl catastrophe was one of the
most dreadful strategies of the humankind. Belarusians suffered the worst of the
disaster and had to deal with its consequences on their own.
“The rehabilitation of Chernobyl-affected lands is one of the most important accomplishments of ours. It is a tragic
experience that the entire planet draws upon now. It allowed us to believe in our
capabilities and make sure once again that we can deal with any hardships if we are
united,” said the Belarusian leader.
Alexander Lukashenko described the overcoming of the deep economic recession and
the social and political shocks of the 1990s as an equally important accomplishment.
Belarus was the first ex-USSR republic to exceed the performance level of the economy before the perestroika
and double it.
MOFAT deputy minister Cho Jun-hyuck & chairman Lee Won-wook from Korea-Belarus Parliamentary Friendship Association also paid attention on the potential of
both countries' cooperation which will lead to a partnership relations of coexistence
between the two countries through their congratulatory remarks at the reception
respectively.
Among well-wishers were Russia Amb. Alexander Timonin, Sri Lanka Amb. Manisha Gunasekera,
Spain Amb. Gonzalo Ortiz, Uzbekistan Amb. Vitali Fen, Israel Amb. Chaim Choshen,
Egypt Amb. Hany Selim Labib, Kyrgyz Amb. Askar Beshimov, Turkmenistan Amb. Myrat
Mammetalyyev, Tunisia Amb. Mohamed Ali Nafti, Paraguay Amb. Irineo Raul Silvero
Silvagni etc. from the Seoul diplomatic Corps.