Opinions & Interviews

Russia ready to continue building Union State together with Belarus

BREST, 13 December (BelTA) – Russia is ready to continue advancing along the path of building the Union State of Belarus and Russia. Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev made the statement during the session of the Council of Ministers of the Union State of Belarus and Russia in Brest on 13 December, BelTA has learned.

The Russian prime minister said: “I would like to emphasize that Russia is ready to continue advancing along the path of building the Union State in the manner stipulated by the Union State Foundation Treaty of 8 December 1999.”

In his opinion, Belarus-Russia trade and economic relations develop in a positive manner. In January-October 2018 Belarus-Russia trade rose by almost 13% to nearly reach $30 billion. “We have results and we have things to work on in order to increase the trade figures and improve the trade structure. It is necessary to continue working to systemically and persistently remove the barriers that exist and that suppress mutual trade. It is necessary to enable favorable and equal market access conditions for our companies, support small and medium business, particularly in the areas we deem promising: hi-tech and science-intensive ones. It is necessary to advance interaction between regions. It is a very important avenue of cooperation. It is necessary to sell more jointly made products on third-country markets,” noted the Russian head of government.

The agenda of the Union State Council of Ministers session includes 25 items, which cover all the avenues of bilateral cooperation. The number includes the draft budget of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, further development of small and medium entrepreneurship, agribusiness complex, mechanical engineering, cancellation of roaming charges in the Union State, and preparations for celebrating the 75th anniversary of Belarus’ liberation from the Nazi invaders and the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945

“These events are particularly significant for our nations. It is our common victory, our common history and memory. We should properly prepare for these events,” said the Russian prime minister. Dmitry Medvedev remarked upon the fact the matter was being discussed in Brest, not far from the Brest Hero Fortress Memorial. “It is important that we are making these decisions in Brest. It is important that the Union State budget covers part of the cost of the Brest Fortress museum complex renewal. This year alone we’ve appropriated some RUB100 million for it. I think this kind of support should definitely continue,” stressed Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev.

A number of documents are supposed to be signed as a result of the session, including the Belarusian-Russian mutual visa recognition agreement.

print version

make home page

add to bookmarks