On January 14, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko appointed new ambassadors to several countries, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Israel, and Cuba. This move is part of Belarus' broader diplomatic efforts to strengthen its relations with these nations, The Caspian Post reports citing BelTA.
Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Aleksei Bogdanov was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Kazakhstan. Pavel Utyupin, who previously held this position, was promoted to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing Igor Nazaruk. Accordingly, the latter will serve as Permanent Plenipotentiary Representative of Belarus to the Statutory and Other Bodies of the CIS.
First Deputy Industry Minister Aleksandr Ogorodnikov will head up the Belarusian diplomatic mission in Uzbekistan. Former Healthcare Minister Dmitry Pinevich was named Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Azerbaijan
Vitaly Borchuk, Head of the Foreign Economic Relations Directorate at the Industry Ministry, will be sent to Latin America as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Cuba with concurrent accreditation to the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
Head of the Department of Information and Digital Diplomacy - Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Glaz was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Türkiye. The Belarusian diplomatic mission in Israel will be run by Head of the State Protocol Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yuri Yaroshevich.
The head of state asked Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksim Ryzhenkov about the reasons for picking these particular people. The foreign minister explained that these people were chosen for these important posts because of their vast experience.
“This appointment will be a serious step forward for them and an opportunity to prove themselves working independently abroad, Indeed, I need very competent, seasoned people in Türkiye, Israel, all the CIS countries, as well as Cuba,” the minister remarked.
According to Maksim Ryzhenkov, candidates were also selected for the vacancies in the MFA.
“Will it not hurt the Industry Ministry if we take away promising people from there?” Aleksandr Lukashenko asked the head of the Belarus President Administration.
“Today, the Industry Ministry is on track to fulfill all its tasks and implement investment projects. It is in line with your instruction to expand relations with the CIS countries in addition to our key partners Russia and China. As far as the CIS is concerned, the big three are Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan,” said Dmitry Krutoi.
The head of state also asked the newly appointed diplomats how they see their work as heads of diplomatic missions.
“I see my task in increasing the export of Belarusian products so that it will exceed $1 billion. Our trade in 2021 totaled over $1 billion and today amounts to $1.1-1.2 billion, but our export is still stuck at $800-900 million. We need to ramp it up,” answered Aleksei Bogdanov, who will head the Belarusian embassy in Kazakhstan.
