MINSK, 16 September (BelTA) – Contracts worth $750 million are expected to be signed during the 7th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia that is due to take place in Minsk and Minsk Oblast on 28-29 September, Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Republic, co-chairman of the organizing committee from the Belarusian side Anatoly Isachenko said during a joint video conference of the organizing committees of the forum, BelTA learned from the press service of the upper house of the Belarusian parliament.
According to Anatoly Isachenko, the expected amount of deals is slightly higher than last year's. “The biggest contract is to be signed by Mogilevkhimvolokno and Russia’s Avangard. The $30 million deal is to be concluded at a plenary session,” he informed.
This year the format of the forum has somewhat changed. “Due to the coronavirus pandemic, workshops and a number of other events will be held by means of a video-conference on the first day. The event will continue offline on the second day,” Anatoly Isachenko said.
The 7th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia will be themed around the legacy of the Great Victory as the pillar of socio-economic and spiritual ties between the peoples of Belarus and Russia. There are plans to hold five workshops to discuss parliamentary cooperation, joint economic projects, the feat of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, fight against the glorification of Nazism, engagement of the youth living in rural communities. There will also be a joint meeting of the business councils of Belarus and Russia and a high-level expert session to discuss “Education as the basis of historical memory and further integration of the Union State of Belarus and Russia”.
Regional contacts, implementation of agreements passed at previous forums and sci-tech cooperation between the two countries will be discussed at the meeting of the Interparliamentary Commission for Interregional Cooperation of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia.
The forum will culminate with a plenary session that will take stock of the work of the workshops, discuss key issues and pass the final document. Cooperation agreements and commercial contracts are to be signed during the plenary session and the meeting of the chairperson of the Council of the Republic and the chairperson of the Federation Council with regional authorities of Belarus and the Russian Federation.