Vadim Sinyavsky Met with the Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Belarus

The Minister for Emergency Situations, Vadim Sinyavsky, met with the Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Republic of Belarus, Renfei Liu, at the Educational Centre for Life Safety. During the meeting, Vadim Sinyavsky provided Renfei Liu with an overview of the activities of the Ministry for Emergency Situations and its role in ensuring the operation of the State Emergency Prevention and Response System. He also informed Ms Liu about the Ministry's active involvement in UN initiatives related to emergency prevention and response, such as the UN Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Additionally, Vadim discussed the Ministry's participation in initiatives such as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations International Advisory Group on Search and Rescue, the Economic Commission for Europe's work on transboundary effects of industrial accidents and transport of dangerous goods, and other relevant initiatives.

Vadim Sinyavsky has expressed interest in working with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He highlighted the importance of increasing the resilience of Belarus to climate risks as a priority area. The head of the rescue department proposed UNDP to take joint efforts to create conditions for rapid detection of hazardous meteorological and natural phenomena, alerting the public about them in advance, and providing effective response and support to the population in emergency situations.

Ms Liu noted that UNDP carries out its activities in the Republic of Belarus based on the country's national priorities and invited the Ministry for Emergency Situations to participate in developing a new country program for 2026-2030 to include emergency preparedness as a priority. The UNDP permanent representative noted that the climate agenda is a promising area for cooperation and that UNDP and the Ministry for Emergency Situations are natural partners. , Renfei Liu also noted that at present, UNDP places priority on innovative areas, including partnerships between countries in the global South.

The parties also emphasized the successful joint implementation of an international technical assistance project designed to adapt the emergency response system to the current global epidemiological situation, and expressed satisfaction with the results achieved.

For reference: The international technical assistance project, "Adaptation of the emergency response system of the Republic of Belarus to operate in an unfavorable global epidemiological situation related to COVID-19", is being implemented with the support of donor funds from the Russian Federation and the UNDP. Within the framework of this project, the material and technical basis of the medical and psychological services of the Republican Special Response Team "ZUBR" and the Educational Center for Life Safety have been strengthened. A website of the ECLS with a virtual tour has been developed, and specialists of the Ministry for Emergency Situations have been trained in the fields of teaching and first aid rendering as well as the use of biofeedback technologies in psychological practice.

As part of a visit to the Educational Center for Life Safety, the UNDP delegation in Belarus learned about its capabilities. They were shown training sites on transportation safety, emergency preparedness, civil defense, fire safety, environmental protection, criminal prevention, ecosystem preservation, and healthy lifestyles. In addition, they saw interactive training on dangerous weather events, nuclear safety, radiation protection, and even visited a youth anti-drug program.