Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya arrived in the Belgian capital on Wednesday to officially launch the "Mission for Democratic Belarus."
The premises located in the city centre had been handed over to Tsikhanouskaya’s United Transitional Cabinet free of charge by the Flemish government.
The facility will provide a venue for Belarusian NGOs and émigrés, as well as serve as an informal embassy for a Free Belarus.
“We have to be steadfast in helping the Belarusians because they would not be able to manage on their own and so they would be left for decades in a different sphere of influence,” Polish MEP Andrzej Halicki told public broadcaster Polish Radio at the opening.
He added: “Poles lived through it in the past and they were offered a helping hand. Today, we feel obliged to lend a hand to the people of Belarus, Ukraine or Moldova, anybody longing for freedom, security and rapid development."
Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek has this report.
Click on the audio player to listen.