(BelTA) – Belarus and Russia will outline areas of further cooperation in Antarctica, BelTA learnt from acting head of the national polar research center, head of the Belarusian Antarctica expedition Aleksei Gaidashov.

On 30 July Belarus will welcome representatives of the Russian south-polar expedition: Deputy Director of the federal establishment “Institute of Arctic and Antarctica” under the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Valery Lukin and head of the logistics center of the establishment Vyacheslav Martyanov.

The Russian delegation is expected to take part in an extended working meeting of Belarus’ ministerial commission on Antarctica issues.

Partaking in the meeting on Belarus’ behalf will be Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Alexander Sukalo, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Belarus Vitaly Kulik, acting head of the national polar research center, head of the Belarusian Antarctica expedition Aleksei Gaidashov.

The parties are expected to discuss the most promising areas of cooperation in Antarctica. In particular, the sides will work out joint decisions for the implementation of the provisions of the present intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in Antarctica. The agenda of the meeting will also include the discussion of the creation of a bilateral working group on the implementation of the agreement and the discussion of the draft plan of action for 2013-2015 and through 2020. The parties will also discuss the construction of the Belarusian polar station.

Belarus plans to build its polar station in Antarctica by 2018.

Antarctica is Earth’s southernmost continent, containing the geographic South Pole. It is surrounded by the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Antarctica covers 52 million square kilometers. Antarctica is the coldest of Earth’s continents. The coldest natural temperature ever recorded on earth was minus 89.2°C in Antarctica in 1983. The average winter temperatures in the center of the continent makes up minus 65°C, and 40 below zero in summer.