Symbol of strong Belarusian-Chinese friendship

President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in the ceremony of inauguration of the National Football Stadium in Minsk. During the grand opening event, Aleksandr Lukashenko warmly thanked President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping and also shed light on the history of the grandiose facility construction.

The most advanced technologies, genuine emotions and a magnificent gift for the country from Chinese partners: Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in the solemn opening ceremony of the National Football Stadium. The grandiose sports facility impresses with its scale, dimensions, and colourful ultramodern appearance. Turnkey design and construction were carried out by our Chinese partners. It was to them — and above all, to Chinese President Xi Jinping — that the Head of State addressed his warmest words of appreciation at the official opening ceremony of the National Football Stadium on June 7th.

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The Head of State was briefly informed about the project’s realisation and prospects of the stadium’s operation. Attention was drawn to the fact that the facility has been built in compliance with requirements of the international football organisations FIFA and UEFA and the procedure for acquiring the necessary accreditations has already begun. 

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted, “We are opening this magnificent sport facility. For our country, for Belarus it is the greatest event. Just like the new international-level swimming pool this outstanding arena has been designed and built by our friends from the People’s Republic of China.”

The Belarusian leader moved away from formal theses and very sincerely spoke of the history of the stadium construction. As a deputy and further as the President, Aleksandr Lukashenko many times drove along Partizansky Avenue and the park named after the 50th anniversary of Great October. As the Head of State admitted, each time he thought about ‘building something fundamental for this district where reliable, strong people live, for our city of Minsk’, about ‘landscaping and bringing everything in order here’, “Over time, after hearing your criticism, I firmly decided that we supposedly devote too much attention to hockey, build facilities for it, and so on. As you remember, we had to do that for a world championship.”

Aleksandr Kulevsky

As Aleksandr Lukashenko, who was a football player in his youth, admitted, he decided then that a national football stadium should be built in the country, “One day our national team will finally show its mettle and play as it should. It was decided to build a national stadium here. Once in Beijing, while negotiating with my old and very reliable friend, Chinese President Xi Jinping, I started that conversation.… After sharing my thoughts, he said: ‘We’ll think about it’.”
On a subsequent visit to China, after the talks, the Chinese leader showed the President a miniature of a swimming pool and an international-level national football stadium. “[They said:] ‘We will give it to the Belarusian people’. I did not believe it right away, knowing China and the Chinese well. Actually, Chinese people do not say anything without any reason, especially the top leader. That’s how it all started,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The international standard swimming pool was launched in November last year. As noted by the Head of State, the object ‘was completely a gift from the Chinese people’. “No Belarusian money was invested into it,” he said, adding, “We are today officially unveiling the greatest monument [to football].”
The Belarusian leader said that he had been shown a sculpture of Belarusian and Chinese football players at the entrance to the stadium. “I said that it would be reasonable to erect a monument to my friend Xi Jinping here, because it was only thanks to him that the Chinese made the decision to build this wonderful stadium (as the minister said, there are few of the kind in Europe) at their own expense. We are opening this grandiose facility today, and this is a truly great event for our country, for Belarus,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
The Head of State expressed gratitude to China President Xi Jinping as well as to all the Chinese partners for building this facility: Belarus’ largest and most up-to-date football stadium that combines national traditions and cutting-edge engineering solutions. The Belarusian leader addressed special words of gratitude to Chinese football players and fans, “We will do everything for you to like your stay in Belarus!”

“I am convinced that the stadium will become yet another recognisable symbol of our hero city of Minsk and a symbol of strong Belarusian-Chinese friendship,” the President stressed.

Belarus vs China friendly match at new stadium in Minsk. Belarus’ youth team drew with China’s team 1–1 in a friendly
match at the new National Football Stadium in Minsk           Aleksandr Kulevsky 

The National Football Stadium meets the highest world standards. “I hope that in the near future in addition to friendly matches, matches of the national championship we will be able to host official international matches and enjoy the performance of the world’s best football players here,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.
In anticipation of the stadium’s opening Minsk residents have beautified the nearby park named after the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution and have renewed the infrastructure of the Traktor Stadium. Thus, this green corner of the capital city has become a modern sport city block for fans of outdoor activities literally over the course of five years, the Head of State noted.
“But it is not the end. We have to invest a lot of work in it to flood this stadium with greenery and flowers. The city administration has been given the relevant task,” the President stated. 

The Head of State emphasised, “Sport is rightly considered an ambassador of peace. Football is the most popular game. It erases barriers between countries, brings different people closer, unites players and fans — all of us, actually.”

The President expressed hope that the level of play of Belarusian clubs and teams will meet the conditions created for them. “I pin great hopes on you, guys! You will defend the honour of your native land through your play. Upon receiving such a gift, Belarusian footballers will finally begin to meet the expectations of their fans, and we will see the bright victories of our favourite teams here. Belarusians can play football. Our men’s beach soccer team brilliantly demonstrated how to smash the strongest rivals at the recent World Cup,” he noted.
Aleksandr Lukashenko congratulated everyone on the opening of the National Football Stadium and wished them good health, perseverance and patience on the way to great sporting achievements for the benefit of the Motherland.

Match between youth national teams of Belarus and China opened a great and, hopefully, glorious history of National
Football Stadium.  In the photo: defender of Belarus’ youth national football team Matvei Bokhno    Aleksandr Kulevsky

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Aleksandr Lukashenko presented with Order of Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Degree I

President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko held a meeting with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, and the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church presented the Head of State with the Order of Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Degree I (the decree on awarding the President of Belarus with this order was signed by Patriarch Kirill on August 30th, 2024).
The Order of Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Degree I was established in 1988 in memory of the 1,000th anniversary of the Christianisation of Rus. In the hierarchy of church awards, it is between the Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Degree I, and the Order of St. Olga Equal-to-the-Apostles, Degree I.
The Head of State warmly thanked Patriarch Kirill for his visit to Belarus, “I am sure that you appreciate the calmness and quietness in which our country is developing. Actually, you can see how it used to be: not everything is calm around Belarus, someone is always trying to instigate something, but we try not to violate the Lord’s commandment in Belarus — and therefore we manage to live more or less calmly.”
The President spoke about his initiative to create religious centres of different faiths in the country, emphasising that the overwhelming majority of Belarusian believers are Orthodox. “We agreed to run such a centre [of Orthodoxy] in Zhirovichi, and we have done a lot there already. A year ago, we decided that we would create an Orthodox pilgrimage centre there, and a lot has been done. This land has become much more beautiful,” he said.
As noted by the Belarusian leader, other faiths will have similar centres as well. “We are implementing these initiatives, and I do not see any resentment on the part of our ‘younger brothers’: Muslims, Catholics, and Jews. They have appreciated the idea,” the Head of State added.

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by