The Administration of the President of Belarus is making bold and ambitious plans for the coming year

The quality of products and services, the efficiency of the work of the organizations of the Administration of the President of Belarus should be as high as possible. Such requirements are made by the HEAD of state to the work of this structure. The manager of affairs is a diversified complex that not only provides events with the participation of the head of state, but also national parks, medical and recreational institutions, dozens of enterprises for the processing of agricultural products, the production of folk and art crafts, and hotels.

Six months ago, Valery Ivanov was appointed manager of the affairs of the President of Belarus. He has a rich working history: in different years he was the chairman of the Kirov and Shklovsky district executive committees, the first deputy chairman of the MINSK regional executive committee, the general DIRECTOR of the Belarusian Potash Company, the chairman of the Belarusian Republican Consumer Society, a member of the Council of the Republic, deputy chairman of the House of Representatives, vice-premier, deputy head Presidential Administration.

Valery Ivanov, in an interview with BelTA correspondent, spoke about the multifaceted activities of the Administrative Department, the features of the development of enterprises in modern conditions, plans for the future, how the tasks set by the President are being carried out and whether it was possible to get acquainted with all the staff of the department headed.

- Valery Nikolayevich, probably, it was not difficult for you to join the topic as a manager of affairs, since in one way or another you had to deal with all the issues dealt with by the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus? What are your impressions from the first months of work?

- I want to note right away that the experience gained in the regions turned out to be a good foundation for further work in various government positions. At each new site, new knowledge and skills were required in order to make optimal management decisions, analyze the production situation and predict its development, especially given the current situation due to rapidly changing global economic trends.

When I was instructed to head this structure, I was well acquainted and understood the activities of the organizations included in the Administrative Department system. And there are neither more nor less than 72 economic entities. The requirements for their work are not only similar to those for all organizations in the country, but also much higher. This applies both to the fulfillment of the set production tasks, the organization of effective management, the development of social institutions, and the creation of favorable and safe working conditions.

However, there is a significant feature in the Administration of Affairs, namely, diversification, since it includes organizations designed to protect natural complexes and meet forecast indicators for logging, develop folk crafts, ensure the EXPORT of goods, works and services, create favorable conditions for the stay and functioning of foreign diplomatic missions. representative offices, take care of people's HEALTH, their cultural leisure and recreation. At the same time, all organizations subordinate to the Administration of the President are closely interconnected. With an understanding of these internal processes, new perspectives and a vision of ways to achieve the goals set by the head of state open up.

One of the tasks was to reach each enterprise, get acquainted with the management, personnel, and activities, which was done. Of course, personal acquaintance with the situation on the ground, people gives a great understanding of how to move forward and achieve the highest possible results. New times require new approaches, the use of the most modern methods and technologies.

Therefore, answering the question, what are my impressions from six months in the position, I can say: there was an understanding of the situation for each specific organization and areas of activity and a vision of what new things need to be brought into work in order to achieve high efficiency, to be competitive in foreign markets for goods and services.

- Today, the Administration of the President is a large-scale complex with dozens of diverse activities of enterprises, organizations, institutions in many sectors of the economy and the social sphere. How did it develop and what areas of activity would you name as a priority?

- The Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus is a state body directly subordinated to the head of state. It was created in August 1994 - a month after the first presidential elections in the history of Belarus.

The formation of the current structure of the Administration of Affairs went in parallel with the development of the Belarusian statehood, the formation of the institution of the presidency and other higher government bodies of the modern type: the Presidential Administration, the State Secretariat of the Security Council, the National Assembly chambers, the government, the Constitutional COURT, the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General's Office.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the Administration of the President's Affairs has gone from a small subdivision involved in the material, technical and social support of the highest bodies of state power, to a state administration body, which is subordinate to more than 70 organizations operating in various sectors of economic activity both in the territory country and beyond.

Among the priority activities of the UD is the strengthening of diplomatic relations by creating worthy conditions for the stay of foreign diplomatic missions of international missions in our country, ensuring the stay of official delegations of foreign states and international structures in Belarus.

In addition, among the priorities are the maintenance and development of domestic folk crafts, handicrafts, national traditions, the preservation of unique reserved places of national and international significance.

We are talking about creating conditions for health improvement, recreation and leisure for Belarusians and foreign citizens. Our enterprises are also involved in ensuring the country's food security, including in the processing of agricultural products, producing high-quality food products mainly from our own raw material base. This is also scientific and applied activity in the agro-industrial complex, the creation and implementation of new promising technologies in the fields of crop and livestock production.

Along with this, great attention is paid to educating the younger generation of love for their native land, respect for folk traditions and crafts, and natural resources.

- How did the covid-19 epidemic affect the work of the department, because there are medical, sanatorium, and sports facilities in the structure of the Administrative Department?

- Of course, the pandemic has made certain adjustments to the work of the entire sanatorium complex, and we have a rather big one - eight sanatorium organizations. Of these, four are located in the best resort areas of Belarus (Minsk Sea, Lake Naroch, Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve), one in Jurmala and three in the Russian Federation.

All our sanatoriums are well known far beyond the borders of the country and annually receive guests from near and far abroad. For many, it has become a good tradition to improve their health and be treated in their favorite Belarusian health resorts, some have been coming with their families for decades. Therefore, the covid situation has affected both the work of sanatoriums and the plans of vacationers.

However, already in the second quarter of 2021, our health resorts almost restored the pre-Covid occupancy rate. By the way, for the entire almost two-year unfavorable period in the sanatoriums of the Department of Affairs, thanks to a well-established system of preventive work, not a single case of COVID-19 was registered among vacationers.

In all institutions, employees are vaccinated, there are means of protecting personnel, and social distancing is provided. For people who have previously had a CORONAVIRUS infection, all sanatoriums have developed rehabilitation programs that allow them to quickly restore health and strengthen immunity.

It is also very significant that the state-owned enterprise "Tsentrkurort" closely cooperates with all Belarusian health resorts, which, by the way, successfully acted as the official tourist operator of the Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk in 2014.

I would like to hope, and we are doing everything for this, that in 2022 the situation with COVID-19 will become more favorable and our regular customers will gradually return to Belarusian sanatoriums, as well as many new guests will appear.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we are working on creating a powerful base for a wide range of services during the off-season in the republican ski center "Silichi", which should become an even more popular holiday destination.

- Valery Nikolayevich, one of the tasks of the Department of Affairs is to create proper conditions for the stay in Belarus of official foreign delegations, diplomatic and consular institutions of foreign states. What are the features of this activity?

- All work carried out in this direction is focused on establishing friendly and business relations, strengthening cooperation between Belarus and other states. There are 54 embassies, 7 consular offices, 14 representative offices of international organizations, equivalent to diplomatic ones, accredited in Belarus.

In the structure of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus in 1995, the main department for servicing the diplomatic corps and official delegations "Dipservice" was created, the main task of which was to resolve issues of ensuring comfortable conditions for the stay of diplomatic missions and servicing official delegations.

At present, 14.5 thousand square meters of administrative space and 8.7 thousand square meters of residential premises for the residence of employees of diplomatic missions have been provided (leased) to accommodate the offices of diplomatic missions.

Visits by foreign diplomats to Belarusian enterprises are regularly organized, business and entertainment events, sightseeing tours to historical places are held to familiarize them more widely with the production potential and Belarusian products, as well as with Belarusian history and culture.

Particular attention is paid to the meeting and accommodation of guests in official residences and hotel complexes of the Office of the President. Various meetings are held at the highest level in the Palace of Independence, the official residence of the President Zaslavl, the President Hotel, the Frunze complex and other administrative and representative complexes.

- The preservation of unique natural places of national and international importance is also one of the important tasks of the UD...

- This is a very important area of ​​our work. The total area of ​​specially protected natural areas transferred to the jurisdiction of the Department of Affairs is 475.5 thousand hectares. We can say that these are the most valuable territories of great international importance. Among them are four national parks - Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Braslav Lakes, Narochinsky and Pripyatsky, as well as the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. In addition, the state forestry institutions "Teterinskoye" in the Kruglyansky district of the Mogilev region and "Krasnoselskoye" in the Minsk region are functioning.

Preserving natural diversity for future generations means using rationally and carefully the beauty of Belarusian nature. The preservation of protected areas at the present stage is ensured primarily through the legislative regulation of their activities. In particular, the law "On Specially Protected Natural Territories" is in force, which defines a special regime for protection and management. At the same time, it is envisaged to divide the territory of national parks into zones - reserved, regulated use, recreational, economic, for which a special regime of use has been established.

For example, any economic activity and the presence of a person in general are prohibited in the protected area. Protected areas, in fact, are natural reserves, on the example of which the impact of climate change and economic activity on nature is monitored. The total area of ​​the reserved territory of national parks and the Berezinsky biosphere reserve is more than 186 thousand hectares.

In addition, protected areas are allocated around environmental institutions, on which certain restrictions are legally established in the implementation of economic activities for absolutely all business entities.

The protection of protected areas is provided both by forest guards and by the inspection service created directly in the institutions. On average, inspections reveal more than 400 facts of violation of environmental legislation per year.

By the way, in the territories of national parks and the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve, active scientific activity is being carried out, aimed at preserving rare and endangered species of animals and plants. Its result was the restoration of the population of bison, beaver and other rare species. In general, the scientific activities of institutions are coordinated by the National Academy of Sciences.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that about 600,000 people visit our environmental institutions every year, who are provided with a wide range of tourist services. For this purpose, appropriate infrastructure has been created in the designated recreational areas - hotels, tourist complexes, tourist camps, ecological trails, tourist routes. At the same time, limit loads are determined for each such zone, which allows minimizing environmental risks when organizing tourism activities.

The high efficiency of environmental activities of our institutions is confirmed by their high international status. For example, the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve was among the first to be included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of the UNESCO "Man and the Biosphere" program (1979), since 1995 it has been the holder of the Diploma of Protected Areas of the Council of Europe, which was confirmed in 2020 for the next ten-year period. In addition, in 2020, the institution acquired the status of an international Ramsar wetland area important for the protection of birds, and was also included in the basic European ornithological and botanical areas of the pan-European Emerald Network.

But the National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" now has all the highest conservation titles. In 1992, by decision of UNESCO, the best-preserved section of forest stands was included in the World Heritage List and became the first object in the territory of the former USSR to be awarded such a high title.

Already in 1993, Belovezhskaya Pushcha received the status of a biosphere reserve, and at the end of 1997, the Council of Europe awarded it with a European Diploma as a reference environmental institution.

In 2013, Belovezhskaya Pushcha was included in the Pan-European Network - "Wildlife Territories". In 2014, after the renomination, Belovezhskaya Pushcha on both sides of the border (Belarus - Poland) was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a single transboundary site with an area of ​​more than 140 thousand hectares.

In 2016, a part of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the Wild swamp, was included in the list of international Ramsar wetlands.

In addition, in 2018 the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided to extend the European Diploma of Protected Areas awarded to Belovezhskaya Pushcha for the next 10 years - until September 30, 2028.

- As far as I know, the agricultural sector and processing enterprises work very effectively in the Administrative Department system. Please tell us more about them.

- Agricultural and processing enterprises of the system are united in the agro-industrial holding of the Department of Affairs, which includes 11 organizations. In 2021, they showed good results of production activities.

For example, the state enterprise "Voskhod" has achieved a yield of grain and legumes (including corn) at 73.7 centners per hectare, potatoes - 393 centners per hectare. The highest average daily weight gain of cattle for growing and fattening was obtained in the agricultural holding - 772 g (108.2% by 2020). By the way, the director of the enterprise, Viktor Sulim, became the winner of the state business award "Head of the Year - 2021. Elite of the National Economy."

Separately, I would like to note the effective activity of the open joint-stock company "Alexandriyskoye". This is a diversified farm specializing in the production of pork, beef, poultry, MILK, feed, growing cereals, rapeseed, corn, and horticultural products. In addition, modern technologies are being successfully introduced here, which contribute to the intensification of production. Good working conditions have been created for employees, and the social infrastructure is constantly being modernized.

The open joint-stock companies "Vasilishki" in the Shchuchinsky district of the Grodno region and "Tikhinichi" in the Rogachevsky district of the Gomel region are also achieving good results.

In addition, the Pinsk MEAT Processing Plant was awarded gold medals and diplomas of the winners of the international competition "Best Product - 2021" and the exhibition "Prodexpo-2021". According to the results of participation in the international competition "The Best Product - 2021" in Moscow, the Pruzhany Dairy Plant was awarded the highest award - a gold medal for seven types of products, as well as a diploma as the best enterprise.

- What can be especially highlighted if we talk about the preservation and development of Belarusian folk crafts?

- The state production and trade association "Belkhudozhpromysly" is engaged in the creation of products of folk art crafts, souvenirs. It includes ten enterprises: 6 industrial, 1 research and production, 3 trade, as well as 4 production sites - in Mogilev, Baranovichi, Polotsk and Khoiniki. In total, more than 1160 people work in this system.

The most important thing in their work is the revival, preservation and development of folk art crafts in Belarus, the production of traditional crafts, unique souvenirs, as well as consumer goods.

Many of the beautiful products that you see on the shelves of Belarusian stores are made by our employees. These are bright garments, embroidered and woven products with Belarusian ornaments, folk, stylized and stage costumes, souvenirs made of wicker, flax, straw and wood, products with paintings on wood and fabrics, works of artistic forging.

In modern conditions (let's say, there is not such a high demand for traditional handicrafts), the preservation of the corresponding industry is possible only in the conditions of the development of other types of related industries that are in demand among buyers.

Now in "Belkhudozhpromyslakh" production facilities are being modernized. One of the brightest examples is the program for the revival of technologies and traditions of manufacturing Slutsk belts, implemented at the state level, which made it possible to recreate the unique technology of weaving. The unitary enterprise "Slutsk belts" has launched the production of copies, analogues and artistic stylizations of Slutsk belts, as well as national souvenirs.

In addition, the issue of reconstruction of production at JSC "Belhudozhkeramika" is currently being worked out.

- How is the state policy in the sphere of humanitarian activity carried out?

- The beginning of active humanitarian cooperation between Belarus and foreign states is connected with overcoming the consequences of the largest man-made disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Of course, a lot has changed since then. Throughout this time, a system has been built for receiving foreign gratuitous aid and its use by both individuals and organizations, and the interaction between government bodies and public organizations - recipients of such aid has been improved. Huge work was carried out to improve the health of children abroad, to license this activity and to ensure their return to their homeland after recovery.

I would like to note that now the country has a clear order in the work with humanitarian aid, the rehabilitation of children abroad, which is properly regulated by law. The Department for Humanitarian Affairs functions in the system of the Administrative Department, which directly deals with such issues, coordinates the activities of legal entities and citizens in this area, and interacts with international organizations.

As a result, hundreds of projects have been implemented during active humanitarian cooperation, and some have become long-term social programs of bilateral cooperation.

One of the main tasks in this direction is to coordinate the activities of state bodies and organizations in the implementation of humanitarian projects. In 2020, Presidential Decree No. 3 "On foreign gratuitous assistance" was adopted. It reinforces the social orientation of work with humanitarian aid and clarifies priority social goals, including the provision of medical services, including medical, social and palliative services, the purchase of medicines and medical devices, support for citizens in need, the development of physical culture and sports, and some others. .

I must especially emphasize that it is forbidden to attract and use humanitarian aid to carry out extremist and other acts, to attract it to prepare or conduct electoral campaigns, political and propaganda events with the population. The state is taking appropriate measures to prevent the channels of humanitarian cooperation from being used for destructive influence from abroad. Government bodies control that assistance is targeted and reaches a specific recipient.

- On New Year's Eve, the charity event "Our Children" is held annually, did the Manager of Affairs take part in it?

- Of course, the Administration of the President cannot remain aloof from this very important and noble activity - caring for children in need of help and support. Our sponsored educational institution is Ruden auxiliary boarding school. On December 27, we visited the kids at the New Year's party, gave them gifts - tracksuits and sweets.

This year, we organized an excursion to Belovezhskaya Pushcha for the pupils, held a military-patriotic event together with the 103rd Vitebsk Separate Guards Airborne Brigade. Earlier, in the Palace of the Republic, together with the public association "Sport without Borders", a festive event dedicated to the Day of the Disabled was organized, in which our sponsors took part. In addition, a lot is being done for children through the Department of Humanitarian Affairs.

- Valery Nikolaevich, as a leader of such a high rank, you have a rather busy work schedule. What helps to keep in good physical shape?

- The secret is simple - love work, and also go in for sports. It so happens that I always love what I do. I believe that this is very important for any person, no matter what position they work in.

For me, daily exercise has become a habit. My morning usually starts with a bike ride in the summer and a walk in the winter. This gives a good boost of energy.

- Valery Nikolayevich, what was the outgoing year like for the Department of Affairs in general, and please share your plans for 2022?

- The year was not easy. The epidemiological situation required increased attention to the health of workers in the system, to prevent a decline in well-being against the backdrop of sanctions imposed by the West and rising food prices.

The measures taken to develop the service sector, increase production volumes and supply demanded agricultural and manufacturing products have allowed to increase exports and increase net profit.

As for 2022, it is planned to continue work on the further development of the social and commercial component of the functioning of the Office of Affairs. It is necessary to modernize sanatorium-and-spa institutions, expand the range of health and medical services.

In addition, we will continue the reconstruction of processing capacities for food production and woodworking, agriculture, and trade.

I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that it is planned that the organizations of the Administration of Affairs will participate in international exhibitions as not only participants, but also organizers. Thus, next year, the organizations of the Administrative Department plan to hold a number of international exhibitions in Minsk on national and food security, wood processing, construction, waste processing, recreation, tourism, production of light industry products and goods for children.

We clearly see the prospects for development, we are building bold and ambitious plans, which, no doubt, will be successfully implemented. The key to this is the professionalism and competence of employees, the initiative and responsibility of managers, the desire to work efficiently and creatively, as well as the realization that, by definition, there cannot be lagging teams in the Business Administration system, and the products and services provided must be of the highest quality.

Alina GRISHKEVICH,

BELTA.