Belarus, Russia sign package of cooperation documents

The parties discussed a wide range of topics, including trade and economic cooperation, the common information space strategy, the abolition of roaming charges and registration of the status of goods of the Union State. The agenda included a total of 21 items. “All the issues were discussed through the prism of ensuring equal rights of citizens of Belarus and Russia,” Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said.

The parties approved a draft decree of the Union State Supreme State Council on common rules of competition and protection of consumer rights. “This significant document accumulates the best approaches of the Belarusian and Russian legislation in consumer protection. Its adoption will contribute to the strengthening and development of the common economic space of the Union State and will help our citizens ensure a high level of protection in the future. We continue to closely monitor the observance of the equal rights of citizens on the territory of the Union State so that our people can fully and equally enjoy the benefits that the Union State provides in matters of labor, medical care, social guarantees and others," the prime minister said.

The parties approved a draft resolution of the Supreme State Council on the plan of events to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. "The plan includes the most important to be held in Belarus and Russia to celebrate this sacred holiday for the peoples of our countries. The main goal is to perpetuate the memory of the contribution of the Soviet people to the Great Victory," the Belarusian head of government stressed.

The parties consider the issue of giving the status of a Union State commodity to the products of Belarusian and Russian industrial enterprises. "Experts from both sides will need to develop criteria by which such products can be classified as Union State goods, determine the sectors to be applied , develop a procedure for the recognition and assignment of status, and resolve a number of organizational and protocol issues. This step is needed to finally decide on providing national treatment for all goods made in the Union State," Roman Golovchenko emphasized.

He announced the establishment of a Union State media company, approval of its charter and composition of the supervisory board. Another important decision concerns the introduction of comfortable tariffs for using communication and data transmission services on the territory of the Union State starting from 1 March 2025.

Another important area of work discussed at the meeting dealt with the development of suburban rail service between the regions of Belarus and the Russian Federation. “Residents of Russia and Belarus are very interested in transportation services, especially in border areas. By now, a number of decisions have already been made on cross-border suburban transportation by rail. This will increase mobility and make it easier for people to travel," said Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

Another document introduced equal tariffs for the transportation of mineral and construction materials by rail for Belarusian and Russian manufacturers.

Special attention was paid to humanitarian matters. "Here I would like to highlight a number of decisions. We are about to start implementing the Union State sci-tech development strategy. We will continue to build a Union State  university network specializing in high technologies. It will train people in the most relevant and in-demand disciplines. Support universities for this platform have been identified today. These are Kazan Federal University and Belarusian State Technological University," Mikhail Mishustin informed.

The parties also signed documents on the progress of the guidelines to the Union State Treaty for 2024-2026 and Union State's programs, on the results of trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Russia in 2023 and the accounting period of 2024, on some issues of law enforcement in implementing the provisions of the Union State Treaty in terms of ensuring the citizens' rights.

The parties also approved progress reports on the action plan to implement the concept of migration policy of the Union State in 2022-2026, on certain measures to counter the illicit trafficking of tobacco and tobacco products.

A draft decree of the Supreme State Council of the Belarus-Russia Union State "On certain measures to counter the illegal import of goods into the Union State" has also been prepared.

"I am confident that the decisions taken today will help implement the Union State Treaty and contribute to strengthening the economies of Belarus and Russia, improving the living standards of our citizens," Roman Golovchenko summarized.