English

New German ambassador opens school playground

New German Ambassador Christof Weil took part in a ceremony held at a general education school in the village of Kalodzishchy near Minsk on August 31 to open a playground whose construction was financed by the German embassy under a technical assistance program, BelaPAN reports.

Mr. Weil also attended a meeting of the school's teachers, students and their parents to mark the beginning of a new academic year.

The embassy decided to help the Kalodzishchy school because it has good ties with a local sustainable development fund, Innovation for Regions, Mr. Weil told reporters.

"Children's joy is investment in the future," he noted.

The ambassador described the playground project as a good beginning for his diplomatic mission and not the last project of its kind to be carried out by the embassy.

He expressed satisfaction that his first public speech in Belarus had been delivered in a school setting.

Mr. Weil, who arrived in Belarus five weeks ago, said that he had wanted to work in Minsk and had "very good impressions of the country, the city [of Minsk] and the Belarusians."

Mr. Weil refused to speak on political issues, explaining that he had not yet presented his credentials to Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Belarus is in for an "interesting time," he said.