Minsk, 20 October 2006 - Yesterday UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative in Belarus, chair of the CORE (Cooperation for Rehabilitation) Programme Preparation and Assessment Committee (PAC) Ms Cihan Sultanoglu paid a working visit to the town of Stolin (Brest region).

Ms Sultanoglu had a meeting with the head of the Stolin district executive committee Alexei Demko to discuss preparation and holding of a PAC regular sitting scheduled for 15 November in Stolin, and implementation of CORE projects in the Stolin district.

“Stolin has a real opportunity to present successful projects. On our part, we will pay priority attention to the Stolin district and its development strategy, taking into account the CORE projects achievements,” Ms Sultanoglu noted in her statement.

During the visit, the UNDP Resident Representative familiarized herself with the process and concrete results of implementation of two small-scale projects: on prevention of bone & muscular system diseases among students of Stolin high school #1 “I safe my health, I will help myself” and on labor rehabilitation of young people within disabilities “Way to Life”. Ms Cihan Sultanoglu appraised the projects achievements in rehabilitation of the living conditions of the district population, and noted the sustainable character of the initiatives.

The UNDP Resident Representative also visited a District Center for Support to Rural Development and Entrepreneurship, which was opened in April 2006 within the framework of the CORE thematic project “Agriculture and Sustainable Economic Development” (CORE-Agri).

Background: Stolin district is one of the four CORE participating districts of Belarus. The budget of nine CORE small-scale and thematic projects currently under implementation in the four districts totals EURO 3.0 mln. Three small-scale projects totaling EURO 45,000 have been already successfully completed.

For more information please refer to Public Information Assistant of the CORE Support Project Alexei Tchistodarski at 227-05-72, or UNDP Communications Associate Vladislav Khilkevich at 227-38-17.

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