OREANDA-NEWS. December 20, 2010. Belarus will continue cooperating with China to implement projects in radiation-polluted territories of Belarus, Belarusian Emergencies Minister Enver Bariev told reporters as a new surgery and intensive care unit of the Gomel Oblast Clinical Cardiological Dispensary was opened on 17 December.

China has been providing the affected regions of Belarus with gratuitous assistance for over ten years already. The first projects that the Chinese party carried out were humanitarian ones. Particularly, China supplied computer equipment in 1999 and medical equipment to hospitals of Chernobyl-affected regions in 2004. Later they decided to replace humanitarian projects by those meant to improve the quality of life and healthcare. The construction of a new surgery and intensive care unit of the Gomel Oblast Clinical Cardiological Dispensary is the first such project. Mogilev and Brest oblasts had also made their proposals concerning China’s aid. The Chinese party chose to build a USD 4.3 million hospital in the city upon Sozh.

Cooperation with China for realizing such serious projects in the affected regions has begun successfully. Enver Bariev said he hopes that cooperation will continue in the future, focusing on improving living and healthcare standards.