During the Belarus Days in Brussels, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Pavel Latushka of the United Transitional Cabinet met with the new Minister-President of Flanders, Matthias Diependaele.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya thanked Flanders for hosting the Mission of Democratic Belarus in Brussels. She highlighted Flanders’ aid to Belarusian expert, civic, and cultural initiatives, as well as the support provided by Flemish diplomats in Warsaw.
“Since 2020, Flanders has been one of our most active allies. We deeply value this partnership and friendship”, noted Ms. Tsikhanouskaya.
During the meeting, the President of Flanders announced an additional €100,000 to support independent Belarusian media through the Council of Europe’s Contact Group.
The Flemish government has previously provided financial support to Reform.by and backed civic organizations and initiatives such as ISANS. Thanks to Flanders’ efforts, the Belarusian issue was raised at a meeting of EU culture ministers, where Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya presented Ales Pushkin’s painting “Belarusian Sun”.
The parties discussed the situation of political prisoners and support for veterans, cultural initiatives, independent journalists, and bloggers.
