NATO’s relations with Belarus
How does cooperation work in practice?
The belief that there is value in communication and practical cooperation is put into practice in several ways. Dialogue takes place within the framework of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) and is facilitated by the existence of Belarus’ diplomatic mission to NATO, which was opened in April 1998. Under the Partnership for Peace, NATO and Belarus are developing practical cooperation in a number of areas through Belarus’ Individual Partnership Programme (IPP).
On the basis of the IPP, Belarusian personnel are attending courses in NATO countries and practical cooperation is being developed in areas such as civil emergency planning, crisis management, arms control, air defence and air traffic control, telecommunications and information processing, plus language training and military education.
One important aspect of cooperation is Belarus’ participation in the PfP Planning and Review Process (PARP). This is aimed at encouraging transparency and at assisting the country in developing capabilities and interoperability for international peace-support operations. NATO helps set planning targets that will enable Belarus to develop some of its forces and capabilities to participate to PfP activities, including NATO-led PfP operations, and in this way contribute to security and stability.
A good example of the tangible benefits of practical cooperation is a PfP Trust Fund project, aimed at helping Belarus meet its obligations under the Ottawa Convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and on their destruction. Completed in January 2007, this joint project, led by Canada and co-funded by Lithuania and Belarus, involved the destruction of some 700,000 anti-personnel mines in Belarus.
NATO and Belarus also cooperate on security-related science. Since 2001, Belarus has received grant awards for about 40 cooperative activities under NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme. Areas include telecommunications, Chernobyl-related risk assessment studies and explosive material detection systems. In addition, over 75 science fellowships have been awarded to Belarusian scientists to study in NATO countries since 1993.
NATO also seeks to aid the development of Belarusian civil society. This takes place primarily through public diplomacy activities. Belarusian non-governmental and civil society organisations are encouraged to engage with NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division. Enquiries should be directed via the Lithuanian embassy in Minsk, which is NATO’s Contact Point Embassy in Belarus.
