Address by H. E. Mr. Aliaksandr Lukashevich, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Bulgaria, on the occasion of the national holiday of the country

The Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus - July 3rd, as well as the main state holiday of the Republic of Bulgaria - March 3rd, are related to the liberation of our countries and peoples from foreign occupation.

On this day in 1944, peace returned to the war-torn land. In the battle against fascism, Belarus lost every third inhabitant of the country. It took us years to overcome the terrible consequences of the war - to rebuild our towns and villages, to revive the national economy.

Modern Belarus is an independent state with a developed economic and social model. The products of Belarusian industry are known all over the world. By the way, the largest fleet of trucks "BelAZ" in Europe was formed in Bulgaria. Belarusian universities are firmly in the ranking of the best educational institutions, and specialists with Belarusian diplomas are in demand all over the world.

Belarus, whose voice sounds proud in the international arena, pursues an independent domestic and foreign policy. It is no coincidence that one of the mottos of Belarusian diplomacy is "Peace in the world". It stems from our firm conviction that no results would be possible without, above all, warm friendships and a desire to maintain and strengthen them.

The bilateral relations between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Bulgaria started in1992. I would like to note that the Republic of Bulgaria is one of the first countries with which Belarus established diplomatic relations. But our countries and peoples have known each other for a long time. We are united by the deep Slavic roots, Orthodoxy, the Cyrillic alphabet. It should be noted that the bust of the People's Poet of Belarus – Yanka Kupala, was inaugurated last year in the Cyrillic Court in the ancient capital of Bulgaria, Pliska. Belarusians are among those who fought for the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke in the twentieth century. We closely cooperated in the field of industrial production and processing of agricultural products. And although later, due to objective reasons, we chose different paths and different alliances, I am pleased to note that our relations are now experiencing a renaissance again and develop on the principles of mutual respect and constructive cooperation.

I take this opportunity, on behalf of the Belarusian people, to express my sincere gratitude to the Republic of Bulgaria for the assistance provided to my country in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Believe me, in Belarus this is appreciated and remembered.

In recent years, we have had meetings at government level. For example, in February this year, was the first in the history of our bilateral relations official visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, to Bulgaria.

Trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation, business contacts, cooperation in the field of culture and in the humanitarian field steadily develop.

A significant part of our bilateral relations, in which we see great potential, is the regional colaboration, which includes more than 40 twinning and cooperation agreements.

Given the long history of friendship between our people, the experience and positivity gained over the years, as paradoxical as it may sound, I believe that we are now only at the beginning of our interaction. As cooperation is not the ultimate goal, it is the path leading to the weal and prosperity of our peoples.

The photo was provided by the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Bulgaria.