English

Belarus` deputy minister discusses cooperation in environmental protection in Lithuania

Belarus’ deputy environmental protection minister, Anatol Lis, on Tuesday visited Vilnius, Lithuania, to discuss with Deputy Foreign Minister Evaldas Ignatavicius bilateral cooperation in environmental issues, BelaPAN reports.

Items on the agenda included environmental activities in Belarus’ Astravets and Ashmyny districts that border the Baltic state, said the press office of the Lithuanian foreign ministry.

In particular, the two deputy ministers discussed proposals to build waste water treatment facilities in Ashmyany and develop salmon breeding grounds in the Astravets district, as well as the possibility of using funds of Belarus, Lithuania and the European Union’s institutions to finance the projects.

“The two sides agreed to cooperate closely within the framework of the Eastern Partnership, and through the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to finance environmental projects,” the press office said.

Under discussion was a project that will involve Lithuanian experts in the development of urban waste management strategies in Belarus.

Messrs. Lis and Ignatavicius also looked at the Belarusian authorities’ plans to build a nuclear power plant in the Astravets district. The Belarusian deputy minister assured the Lithuanian official that the station would be safe, according to the report.

The preservation of shared cultural heritage also topped the agenda, with the two deputy ministers mulling the possibility of renovating an old estate dating back to the times of the Grand Duchy of Litva in Shchorsy, Navahrudak district, Hrodna region, and linking the 19th-century Awhustowski Canal with the basin of the River Nyoman.

The meeting was organized as part of a Lithuanian-funded project aimed at sharing experience in environmental protection with Belarus’ authorities and helping the neighboring country enhance waste management strategies to bring them closer to the European Union’s standards, the press office said.