On 13th October 2015, the Regional Director of the ICAO European and North Atlantic Office, Mr Luis Fonseca de Almeida, officially inaugurated the 29th ICAO Aviation Security Training Centre (ASTC) in Minsk/Belarus.
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The Training Centre of the National Airport Minsk was established in 2009 and developed quickly to become the most important Aviation Security (AVSEC) Training entity in Belarus. In 2014 the centre applied for endorsement by ICAO and the evaluation for compliance with ICAOs Terms of Reference (ToR) revealed excellent results. On 15th May 2015 the Training Centre of the airport Minsk received the certificate from ICAO.
The official inauguration of the new ASTC Minsk was a big event in Belarus. National press and television were invited and the integration of the ASTC in the international network of ICAO ASTCs was celebrated as an important step for the country. A couple of neighboring States followed the invitation to participate in the ceremony (e.g. Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Russian Federation). After several speeches followed by a traditional Belarussian concert and the handover of the ICAO flag, the ICAO Regional Director and the Deputy Minister of Transport in Belarus cut the ribbon and opened the centre officially for international training.
On 14th and 15th October the ASTC Minsk hosted the ICAO Regional Aviation Security and Facilitation seminar with 65 participants coming from a wide range of Russian speaking States. This seminar proved the capability and professionalism of the newly endorsed Aviation Security Training Centre.
