Congress President Anders Knape met President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on 29 April 2019, in Minsk. Welcoming the interest of the Belarusian authorities to improve local self-government, President Knape underlined the Congress readiness to support the current process in this area.
President Lukashenko emphasized that Belarus had its vision of the development of local governance but can benefit from good practices in European countries. “We will make progress towards greater autonomy of local authorities, and close contacts between local authorities and relevant bodies of the Council of Europe are an efficient tool in realising our plans. Belarus hopes to develop contacts with the Council of Europe with regards to local governance,” he said.
The president Knape also met Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, Mr Mikhail Masnikocivh, with Mr Popkov, Chairman of the Permanent Commission of the Council of the Republic of Belarus.
