The history of the participation of Belarusian scientists and specialists in the study of Antarctica dates back to the middle of the 20th century, when during the International Geophysical Year the First Integrated Antarctic Expedition on the diesel-electric ship "Ob" set off to the shores of Antarctica (November 30, 1955). The expedition included 10 participants from Belarus, who took part in the construction of the first Soviet Antarctic observatory "Mirny". From 1955 until the formation of the sovereign state of the Republic of Belarus (1992), 102 Belarusian scientists and specialists took part in the exploration and development of Antarctica as part of Soviet Antarctic expeditions.

The initiative to join the Antarctic Treaty and participate in Antarctic research in 2005 was put forward by V. F. Loginov, M. E. Nikiforov (Belarus) and V. S. Koshelev (Russia), a group of Belarusian polar veterans (Vasilevsky E. P., Gaidashov A. A., Giginyak Yu. G., Suslov N. M.), who worked in Antarctica during the Soviet era, as well as the Belarusian Geographical Society.

The initiative was supported by the Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus M. V. Myasnikovich, and in 2006 Mr. President of the Republic of Belarus A. G. Lukashenko gave the order to develop a State Program for the study of the polar regions of the Earth.