80th anniversary of liberation of Belarus confers message of peace, tranquility: Ambassador Andrei

ISLAMABAD, Jul 03: (Rizwan Abbasi) Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to Pakistan, Andrei Metelitsa on Tuesday said that the 80th anniversary of the independence of modern Belarus is a message of peace, tranquility and friendship for all countries of the world including Pakistan.

Today’s modern Belarus is the result of a prolonged struggle against global colonial powers 80 years ago and now the country is widely known for its Commendable economic development and its strong role in the world political arena.

The Ambassador said that on July 3 Belarus will celebrate the 80th anniversary of its liberation from the Nazi invaders.

July 3rd ‘Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus, is the day of liberation of our capital, Minsk, in 1944, he said.

He said the cruel events of the Great Patriotic War Will forever remain the tragic pages in the memory of the people and that was swept through all the settlements of our Homeland, touched or scorched with fire every inhabitant living on the territory of Belarus.

Andrei Metelitsa said “We must cherish this memory, not allowing those terrible events to be forgotten.”

He said the liberation of our country in July 1944 allowed the true self-determination of the Belarusian people, first as a republic in the Soviet Union, and from 1992 -as a sovereign state.

Replying to the question, he said that turning to bilateral relations, Belarus considers Pakistan as a valuable and reliable partner in South Asia and the Muslim world.

In 2024 we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations and since 1994 more than 80 bilateral documents, including 13 international treaties, have been signed, he informed.

He said this year is a special one for Belarus and our bilateral relationship with Pakistan.

The Ambassador said the true spirit of our cooperation is reflected in the Islamabad Declaration of Belarus-Pakistan Partnership signed by the Heads of State in May 2015 and the Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation signed in August 2015.

He added that such fundamental documents are an indication of great trust and warm relations between our states.

The Ambassador said that Minsk has never stood aside and always supports Pakistan.

He said that the exchange of visits at the highest level in 2015 and 2016 along with the opening of the diplomatic Missions in 2014 and 2015 in the capitals of our states became the culmination points in the process of building a bilateral partnership. Replying to the question on people-to-people contact, he said to facilitate people-to-people contacts Belarus is working to liberalize the visa regime with Pakistan.

In 2021, Pakistan was included in the list of states with visa-free entry into Belarus on the condition they have a valid multiple-entry visa from an EU member state or the Schengen area and a return ticket, he said.

In December 2023, the Agreement on the mutual abolition of visa requirements for citizens of Belarus and Pakistan who are holders of diplomatic and service passports, signed in May 2023, came into force.

The Ambassador said that Pakistan, in turn, included Belarus in the list of countries with simplified requirements for obtaining business visas (BVL-business visa list), which allows to obtain a multiple-entry visa for a period of 5 years and a single-entry visa upon arrival in the country within 24 hours up to 30 days.

Replying to another question, he said that another promising area of cooperation is the development of direct interaction between the educational institutions of Belarus and Pakistan.

Now 43 students from Pakistan are studying in Belarus and this year, Belarus has allocated a quota for training two citizens of Pakistan on ‘Information Technologies’ at the expense of the Belarusian state budget, he said.

He said that candidates are selected and are undergoing entrance tests.