The Belarusian Bureau of the Euroregion «Lake Land» opened in Glubokoye
Foreign guests attending the opening of the Belarusian office of the Euroregion "Lake Land" in Glubokoye were welcomed with bread and salt.
The directors of the Lithuanian, Latvian, and Belarusian offices, Lina Staliavskienė, Ilze Stabulniece, and Mikhail Orekhov, together with the Chairperson of the Glubokoye District Council of Deputies, Galina Unukovich, cut the symbolic red ribbon at the entrance of the new building. The guests thanked the district leadership for their assistance in implementing measures and establishing close partnerships. According to Galina Unukovich, frequent meetings of friends contribute to the development of cross-border cooperation and the implementation of joint projects, including those aimed at preserving and enhancing cultural and historical values.
— The opening of the Belarusian office is an important event for the 16-year history of the Euroregion, which unites 30 municipalities in Lithuania, Latvia, and Belarus, — said the Director of the Latvian office, Ilze Stabulniece. — The Glubokoye district has shown great activity and interest in solving joint tasks and strengthening friendly relations in recent years. At the largest investment forum for "Lake Land" held a year ago in Glubokoye, many important issues were discussed, interesting ideas were considered, and ambitious plans were proposed. If 13 million euros were attracted in the previous 15 years, then about 20 million are planned to be implemented in the next five years.
The project "Third Step in the Strategy of the Euroregion "Lake Land — Planning a Common Future for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development of Latvian-Lithuanian-Belarusian Territories" is finishing in August. More than 500 specialists from three neighboring countries worked on its implementation. The opening of the bureau is one of the important components of this project. Mikhail Orekhov noted that the subsequent development strategy of the Euroregion will be aimed at strengthening the joint activities of the border regions of Belarus.
— Previously, there were separate projects implemented in individual regions. "Third Step" helped to unite, rally eight districts of Vitebsk region (and recently Sharkovshchina was also included in the Euroregion), and focus on fruitful cooperation. The proposed ideas cover various fields of activity and concern, for example, the use of modern technologies in energy saving, construction, and environmental protection.
Currently, departments of education, healthcare institutions, and culture are actively participating in the implementation of cross-border projects from the Belarusian side. Joint events and campaigns are organized to convey the necessary information to the population. For example, a project on forming a healthy lifestyle promotes the study of health characteristics of different age categories.
According to Mikhail Orekhov, in addition, 10 districts of our country, together with 4 regions of Moldova, are actively participating in the implementation of an important environmental project organized in Central and Eastern Europe. For these purposes, Belarusians are provided with 500 thousand euros, and Moldovans – 200 thousand. Also, Glubokoye residents and their neighbors are engaged in projects on cleaning small rivers, protecting park areas, etc.
Diana Bernikovich, "Vitebskie vesti"