Lord Bell Set to Launch Program to Improve Belarus’ Image

Timothy Bell, a member of the British House of Lords, said in an interview with BelaPAN that his PR firm, Chime Communications, would launch a program aimed at improving the international image of Belarus, which would consist of an information campaign and a marketing campaign.

According to him, the objective of the former campaign is to “get across a more accurate view of Belarus,” whereas the latter will be for the purpose of encouraging investment.

Lord Bell declined to elaborate, citing the confidentiality of this information.

He said that Chime Communications would sign a contract with the Belarusian government within the next few weeks.

Lord Bell visited Minsk on March 13 to meet Alyaksandr Lukashenka. “We expect you to be an ambassador of good will from the United Kingdom itself,” the Belarusian leader told him then.

Lord Bell said that online information sources contain a lot of two-faced and hypocritical comments regarding Belarus. Serious work should be done to remedy the situation, he noted. It is essential that information about the state of affairs in the country be unbiased and accurate, he said.

"I went to see him, at his request. He's asked me to put a proposal together about how his image could be improved," Lord Bell told the BBC following the meeting.

"He would like his country to be better understood, and his successes to be better grasped," Lord Bell told the Moscow Times. "Lukashenka doesn't see why Belarus can't be a friend to the West and a friend to Russia at the same time."

Belarus' state media offered little coverage of the visit, saying that it was a "private business visit" by the British PR expert.

Timothy Bell, 66, is known for his advisory role in Margaret Thatcher's three successful general election campaigns. He is president of Chime Communications, an advertising/PR firm.

He was knighted by Margaret Thatcher in 1990 and made a Life Peer by Tony Blair in 1998.

He has served on various arts and public administration bodies. He has recently been an advisor to the Iraqi government on the "promotion of democracy.”

Lord Bell, a friend of Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, handled the media attention behind poisoned Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died in the hospital in November 2006.