Belarus, a landlocked midsize European country endowed with few natural resources is located between two centers of power: the European Union and Russia, with Ukraine on the southern border. Against all odds, Belarus has managed to withstand geopolitical and economic challenges of the region, to preserve its friends and allies, and to maintain its sovereignty and stability.

Pavel Shidlovsky has been chief of mission for Belarus in the U.S. since April 2014. Before coming to the U.S., Shidlovsky served as director of the U.S. and Canada Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus; as a counselor in the Embassy of Belarus in the U.S.; and as an assistant to the minister of foreign affairs of Belarus. His first foreign posting was in Canada, where he served as second secretary and vice consul for three years. He joined the diplomatic service in 1993, after having graduated with honors from the Minsk Linguistic University, as a linguist and interpreter from English and French, and with honors from the Academy of Administration, as specialist in international relations.