Food security is an important part of the economy and the key factor in preserving the sovereignty of the Commonwealth. This was stated today by Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS. He named the elimination of the existing trade barriers and restrictions as the main growth points, because the current realities make us rethink many approaches to regulating the foreign trade and look for additional reserves to prevent shortages of important goods. According to the Belarusian side, it is also important to speed up the preparation of an agreement on free trade in services and investments for signing at the autumn session of the CIS Council of Heads of Government in Nur-Sultan.
Roman Golovchenko, Prime Minister of Belarus:
It will be impossible to achieve sustainable economic growth in the conditions of the economic war declared to us without solving one of the systemic tasks, the maximum departure from mutual settlements in dollars and euros. This will not only increase cross-border settlements, which can be carried out directly between participating countries, but also encourage mutual trade and protect exporters and importers from the fluctuations of exchange rates of third countries.
The Prime Minister recalled that in April 2022, Belarus moved to the calculations for energy with Russia in Russian rubles. "The necessary payment infrastructure for a complete departure from the American and European currencies is largely formed on the platform of the Commonwealth. Trade in national currencies is becoming more widespread, but the share of mutual settlements in dollars and euros is still significant. In this connection I ask heads of delegations to intensify work in this direction. The Interstate Bank has compiled a list of relevant proposals. I think it is necessary to consider them on a priority basis," he said.
Roman Golovchenko also noted that it is necessary to use the potential of the domestic transport market of the Commonwealth. Since April, the European Union has stopped admission of vehicles registered in Belarus and Russia to its territory. Exceptions apply only to certain types of products. In this regard, we are reorienting cargo flows to other directions. Therefore, the issues of creating transport corridors and modern conditions for the movement of goods between CIS countries become relevant within the Commonwealth.












