MINSK, May 12. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has vowed that his country will take part in the UN Sustainable Development Summit, the presidential press service said on Friday.
"The head of state thanked the UN Secretary General [Antonio Guterres] for the invitation to the summit and assured that Belarus will actively contribute to its preparation and will take part in this important event at an appropriate level," it said.
According to the press service, Lukashenko stressed that the September summit should focus on the link between peace and sustainable development and give a fresh impetus toward beginning a global security dialogue.
"Unilateral coercive measures or sanctions are a serious challenge to the common course toward reaching the goals of sustainable development. These arbitrary, illegal actions by a group of Western countries, who are guided by their own interests and expectations, annihilate any progress on the path toward the goals of sustainable development," Lukashenko said in his letter of response to Guterres’ invitation.
The sanctions "undermine global food security and, hence, expand the scope of poverty and hunger to entire regions and even continents," the Belarusian leader noted.
"Sanctions have become a weapon. They kill," he stressed, adding that in recent years Belarus has been calling on states to hold "a comprehensive security dialogue in order to lay the foundation for a new, fair world order."
Lukashenko emphasized that his country is committed to sustainable development goals, which are integrated into its national strategic documents. "I am convinced that Belarus’ experience in terms of the efficient organization of national-level work toward reaching sustainable development goals will be interesting and useful for many UN member states. Naturally, we are ready to share it during the summit," the Belarussian president added.
