Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Natalya Petkevich congratulated the National Olympic Committee on its 35th anniversary as she attended the NOC General Assembly in Minsk on 24 March.
“The NOC has managed to skillfully find a balance between the state approach and the independent support of athletes, which is required by the Olympic Charter. Achieving such a combination is extremely difficult,” Natalya Petkevich emphasized. “Thanks to the current and previous heads of the NOC and the entire sports community, we have managed to uphold this principle in Belarus.”
The Deputy Prime Minister also presented the NOC with a handmade vytsinanka (traditional Belarusian paper cutting) as a gift on behalf of the Government in honor of the anniversary. “The NOC has already been honored with awards and certificates. This time I wanted to give a gift from the heart. Vytsinanka is very symbolic for Belarus; it has placed our country on the UNESCO World Heritage list. I want to wish that our athletes continue to write their names in the history of sport in golden letters,” Natalya Petkevich said.
