By Olga Makei: The upcoming meeting of the Union State Supreme State Council should be efficient, as announced by President Alexander Lukashenko at today’s meeting with State Secretary of the Union State Grigory Rapota. The event will be held on June 29-30 in Moscow. Its agenda, among other things, will include issues related to industrial cooperation between Belarus and Russia. The Belarus-Russia Forum of Regions to be taking place at the same time will be dedicated to high-tech solutions and innovations with 60 draft documents ready for signing. Belarus and Russia are expected to sign contracts worth at least 300 million dollars. Manufacturers will present their products at a specialized exhibition.
Russia is Belarus’ main trade partner accounting for almost half of the country’s exports. More than 8,000 enterprises of the two countries are connected by cooperation, and there are over 70 joint ventures.
Since the beginning of the year, Alexander Lukashenko has received delegations from five Russian regions. Another reason for meeting is the 4th Belarus-Russia Forum of Regions, scheduled to take place in late June in Moscow. If the first forum was dedicated to agriculture development, the second to industrial policy and the third to social and humanitarian cooperation, this time the focus will be on integration in the hi-tech sphere.
The forum of regions is primarily a platform for dialogue between the heads of enterprises of the two countries, which means that governors and the managers of factories and plants will have the opportunity not only to discuss joint plans, but also sign bilateral contracts — 60 documents are already being prepared for signing. If the total worth of the contracts signed at the first forum exceeded 230 million dollars and amounted to about 300 million at the third, this time the bar is not going to be lowered
To discuss plans in detail, State Secretary of the Union State Grigory Rapota arrived in Minsk to meet with Alexander Lukashenko. Last week saw two large-scale events: the MPs of the two countries met in Minsk and the Council of Ministers met in St. Petersburg. Next week, cooperation development will be discussed in detail by the Presidents at a meeting of the Union State Supreme State Council. The negotiations are scheduled to take place in Moscow on June 30 to focus on the development of mechanical engineering and agriculture.
Answering journalists' questions, Grigory Rapota outlined problems that still exist in the Union State, counterfeit goods being among the new ones. Ways to solve the problem will also be discussed in Moscow.
Controversial issues emerge only because the main goal is to make life in the Union State space better through equal conditions in the joint economy. Achieving this goal is the main task of the allies, Belarus’ Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko believes.
