| Belarusian Ambassador to Korea Andrei Popkov delivers a speech during his country's national day reception at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, June 27. Embassy of Belarus |
By Yi Whan-woo
This year marks the 75th anniversary of Belarus' liberation from Nazi Germany during the Soviet Army's military campaign "Operation Bagration."
The anniversary, together with the 100 years of modern Belarus' diplomacy, has helped the country to make "significant progress on the international arena," according to Belarusian Ambassador to Korea Andrei Popko.
The envoy said the two anniversaries also have led to "vivid confirmation" when it comes to Belarus-Korea relations that are expanded to science and technology in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
"The memory about wars that affected the territory of Belarus, pain of losses and respect for the heroism of our ancestors define the peace-loving policy of the country, its strong adherence to the primacy of international law, freedom of self-determination and equal sovereignty of nations," Ambassador Popko said during a reception at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul last week.
He noted more than two million Belarusians lost their lives during WWII.
As part of the Great Patriotic War, the operation freed Belarusians in their capital city of Minsk on July 3, 1944, which has been celebrated as Independence Day.
"These values constitute the bedrock of Belarusian modern diplomacy, the centenary of which we celebrate this year," Popko added, referring to the establishment of the Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belorussia in January 1919 in Minsk.
A former constituent republic of the Soviet Union, it was a founding member of the United Nations.
The Foreign Ministry of the Republic was launched in 1990 when Belarus declared sovereignty from the Soviet Union.
Since then, Belarus has continued to develop diplomatic ties worldwide and has ambassadors accredited to 109 countries.
"Over the years the Republic of Belarus has made significant progress on the international arena while pursuing the multi-vector policy aimed at the development of friendly relations with all countries without geographic constrains," Popko said. "The vivid confirmation of the stated accomplishments is a constructive and mutually-beneficial cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Korea."
The Belarus-Korea relations span from politics to security to the economy to science to culture after they were established in 1992. And the envoy expressed hope to enhance friendship so that they can better cope with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
He underlined specific fields of interest — information and communications technology (ICT), artificial intelligence, biotechnologies, electric and self-driving vehicles, robotics and electronics, nano-materials as well as chemical and petrochemical industries.
"The Republic of Korea represents a good example for us how to rebuild itself with the use of innovative technologies and find progressive solutions for all critical challenges of economic growth," Popko said.
The latest cooperation include the fifth meeting of the joint intergovernmental committee in Seoul in September 2018 and the third meeting of the committee on sciences and technologies in Minsk in April 2019.
The envoy expressed such activities "can create a new opportunities for advancing and diversifying bilateral relations," especially in relation to President Moon Jae-in's New Northern Policy aimed at elevating political and economic ties with the countries to the north of South Korea.
The Seoul reception saw ambassadors and other members of diplomatic corps. From the Korean side was Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.