Belarus, Russia to discuss new Union State integration plan soon
22 January 2024, 14:25
The state secretary thanked the president for the opportunity to meet and briefed him on the work of the Union State Standing Committee and the interaction of Belarus and Russia within the framework of the Union State. They also discussed the upcoming meeting of the Supreme State Council, which Dmitry Mezentsev called “particularly important.” According to him, the draft three-year plan to implement the provisions of the Union State Treaty for 2024-2026 will be submitted for approval to the presidents of Belarus and Russia.
“At the meeting of the Council of Ministers [of the Union State] on 29 November, a draft decree of the Supreme State Council was approved. It takes stock of the 28 Union State programs and lays out a new three-year plan through 2026 to implement the main provisions of the Union State Treaty. It needs your approval and the approval of Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin], members of the Supreme State Council,” said Dmitry Mezentsev.
He emphasized that the decision made by the heads of state in November 2021 to develop 28 Union State programs marked a new period of economic integration of Belarus and Russia. “This is a comprehensive, interconnected large-scale document that has brought the Union State relations to a fundamentally new level,” the state secretary noted.
After the meeting with the Belarusian head of state, Dmitry Mezentsev told journalists that the work on the 28 Union State programs was almost completed and the heads of government of Belarus and Russia reported on this at the meeting of the Union State Council of Ministers. There are plans to approve the main areas for the implementation of the Union State Treaty for a new three-year period and to allow the Council of Ministers to approve plans for joint work. This will make it possible to more quickly respond to emerging challenges and make adjustments to these plans (this was more difficult to do with the Union State programs), the state secretary explained.
According to him, the Supreme State Council meeting will take place “in the very near future”.
“I have presented [at the meeting with the president of Belarus] the parties’ proposals for the upcoming meeting of the Supreme State Council. These include reports from governments on what has been done, and reports from foreign ministers on the work they are doing within the framework of a coordinated foreign policy,” Dmitry Mezentsev added.
BelTA learned that the main difference between the document proposed to run in 2024-2026 and the document for the period of 2021-2023 is that the former includes a large block of humanitarian, cultural and social issues, while the previous one, together with the 28 Union State programs, primarily focused on the economic component of cooperation, manufacturing, banking and similar areas.
