On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya attended the annual Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards ceremony, which brought together representatives of governments, international business, civil society, and the media. This year’s honorees were Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali, and actress and singer Cynthia Erivo.
During the ceremony, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya met and spoke with:
- Mike Pompeo, former US Secretary of State;
- Petr Pavel, Czech President;
- Frederick Kempe, Atlantic Council President and CEO;
- Benedikt Franke, Munich Security Conference Vice-Chairman and CEO;
- Mirek Dušek, Managing Director, Chief Business Affairs Officer, and Head of Global Programming at the World Economic Forum.
- Penny Wong, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia;
- Mike Waltz, US Ambassador to the UN and former National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump;
- Karan Bhatia, Google’s Vice President and Global Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy.
She also held a conversation with Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali, who received this year’s Global Citizen Award. She briefed him on the situation in Belarus and Belarusian political prisoners.
Such meetings provide an opportunity to raise awareness of Belarus, build new international partnerships, and establish connections with the global business community. The democratic forces need to start thinking now about Belarus’s economic future, attracting investment, and involving international companies in the country’s development after democratic change.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “It is important that Belarus is not forgotten at international platforms like these and that it is seen not only through the current threats posed by the Lukashenka regime and Russia but also as a reliable partner of the future. After democratic change, Belarus will need investment, technology, and international business. That is why we need to build these connections today”.
