On the occasion of a meeting at the Palace of the Council of the Republic in Minsk, Belarus, the Director of the Congress of the Council of Europe, Jean Philippe BOZOULS held an exchange of views with the President of the Council of the Republic, Mikhail MIASNIKOVICH, on 25 April 2018. They discussed plans for a round table on the European Charter of Local Self-Government to be jointly organised by the Congress and the Council of the Republic of Belarus in the autumn of 2018 in Minsk. This project had already been envisaged during exchanges with the President of the Committee on Regional Policy of the Council of the Republic, Alexander POPKOV.  This round table will examine, in particular, the role and development of national associations of local authorities in Belarus in the light of the experiences of the 47-state Organisation. The Bureau of the Congress will consider this round table at its next meeting on 18 June 2018. Throughout the day, the Congress Director had the opportunity to discuss the local governance experience with elected representatives of the Zhodino Municipality in the suburbs of Minsk.