The 80th meeting of the joint collegium of the Union State Committee for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring is being held in Vitebsk
Key issues to be discussed include cooperation between the state hydrometeorological services of Belarus and Russia, including the feasibility of creating a joint testing ground for year-round testing of meteorological and aerological equipment. The parties will also assess the state and determine ways to improve agrometeorological observations, information services, and other areas.
The meeting is attended by the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee Alexander Subbotin, representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, the Standing Committee of the Union State, the CIS Executive Committee, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, Roshydromet, Belhydromet, and executive authorities and scientific circles of both countries.
The Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Subbotin, welcomed the participants of the meeting, noting that the warm atmosphere would allow for highly effective work at this venue.
The head of the northern region emphasized the relevance of the work of Soyuzhydromet, which is gaining increasing importance due to the changing climate zones.
In the context of natural disasters, hurricanes, downpours, and hailstorms, which hydrometeorologists need to predict, the importance of professionals in the field is growing for all sectors of the national economy, added Alexander Subbotin.
The Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus, Sergey Maslyak, noted that both countries are linked by a long history of cooperation in hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring.
These relations received an additional impetus for development with the formation of the Union State.
– Confirmation of this is today's collegium under the auspices of the Union Committee for Hydrometeorology, which serves as a coordinating link in the cooperation between Roshydromet and Belhydromet. This is a unique platform that provides opportunities for the exchange of experience and information, which is important during the development of technologies, and for improving the qualifications of our employees, both in the Russian Federation and in the Republic of Belarus. This also includes important issues of import substitution of foreign-made equipment that we and our colleagues from the Russian Federation use in our work today, with domestic, Russian, and Chinese analogues.