Business news

According to Vladimir Putin, participants of the session paid close attention to forming a prospective agenda concerning the development of the economy, trade, and investment ties. “We have agreed to improve cooperation in matters of macroeconomic regulation, in ensuring the steady and sustainable growth of the Union State economy in adverse external conditions,” said the President of Russia.

Important decisions were made to further harmonize the national legislations, remove the remaining barriers and improve the business climate. Vladimir Putin remarked that Russia accounted for nearly half of Belarus’ merchandise in 2015. In Belarus there are over 2,500 companies with a share of Russian capital and there are over 1,000 Belarusian companies in Russia.

Ways to step up manufacturing cooperation were discussed during the talks, added Vladimir Putin. “We have agreed to step up work on forming a unified industrial policy, including the operation of the working group on import substitution,” said the President of Russia. During the session concrete steps to counteract the illegal turnover of industrial products were outlined. A joint statement was adopted on the sidelines of the session.

Apart from that, sincere opinions about the current state of global and reginal affairs were expressed. “In this context we discussed further advancement of interaction in foreign policy matters. We talked about ensuring the defensive ability and security of the Union State,” said Vladimir Putin. He was confident that the adopted program on coordinated actions in the international arena will enable better coordination of Belarus’ and Russia’s efforts. It will allow the two countries to approach acute regional and global problems from the same angle.

“I am convinced that the agreements reached in Minsk today will make the Union State stronger,” stressed Vladimir Putin.