A special briefing “Belarus-UNRRA-UNDP: History and Development”
14.04.2016A special briefing “Belarus-UNRRA-UNDP: History and Development” for the Member States was held on April 13, 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters. The event was organised by the Permanent Mission of Belarus to mark the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the 70th anniversary of the beginning of operations in Belarus of the first humanitarian UN mission – United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UN Mission-UNRRA).
The treaty on creation of the UN Mission-UNRRA was signed in 1943 by 44 anti-Nazi coalition states in Washington to provide economic assistance to European nations after World War II. The United States was the leading donor of the agency. The UN Mission-UNRRA arrived in Belarus on April 16, 1946 and operated in the country till 1947. The Mission was responsible for coordination of interaction between the Government of Belarus and UNRRA in providing the assistance.
The moderator of the event was the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Valentin Rybakov. In his welcoming remarks the Belarusian diplomat informed the participants about the history and the modern status of interaction between Belarus and UNDP. He also informed about the initiatives by Belarus in support to contribution of the UN Mission-UNRRA. The Belarusian diplomat underlined the nexus and consonance of the mandates of UNDP and the UN Mission-UNRRA in providing development assistance to the countries.
The Assistant Administrator and Regional Director of the UNDP Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States Cihan Sultanoglu also participated in the event. She assessed highly the level of cooperation between the Belarusian Government and UNDP.
The representatives from the US Mission and United Nations Archives Section also took part in the event as keynote speakers.
