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Belarus in favor of aligning integration between EAEU, SCO, BRICS
MOSCOW, 24 May (BelTA) – Belarus is in favor of aligning the integration efforts in the EAEU-SCO-BRICS format, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he addressed the 2nd Eurasian Economic Forum in Moscow on 24 May, BelTA has learned.
Since gaining independence, Belarus has always been at the forefront of integration processes, the president stressed. One of the priorities for the country and the entire EAEU is to strengthen regional and transcontinental alliances.
"These are new centers of power in the emerging multipolar world. They are willing to defend their interests and their own ways of development," Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “The center of the world economy is irreversibly shifting towards the developing countries (this is natural) in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. These states no longer want to be sources of raw material or cheap labor. They want, and deservedly so, to fully participate in the international division of labor. They seek decent pay for their work. Everyone understands this. Russia, probably, was the first to understand this. Everyone has rushed to Africa."
The head of state drew attention to the way the West and the United States reacted to Russia's movement. "The Russian Foreign Ministry and others involved in politics know how the United States is trying to slow down this process and not to let Russia into Africa. But you also understand well and know that China is already there. There is a competition for these countries. They are the future pole of development. But this does not mean that we will not develop," he said.
"In our opinion, the aligning of the integration between the EAEU, the SCO and BRICS will contribute towards the emergence of the largest coalition of states. We need to act promptly," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president noted that BRICS has received many applications from countries wishing to join this association. The same is true for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Aleksandr Lukashenko urged to act proactively in the development of integration processes, to prevent a slowdown in the bureaucratic guts of the apparatuses of these organizations: "Today the moment is such that we need to run rather than to walk. We need to promptly select those applicants who, frankly speaking, fit us best. And then, when the BRICS gain momentum, when the SCO gains momentum..."
The head of state also drew attention to the huge potential in terms of economy and in terms of population of these associations. "If these organizations acted faster, we would have seen a completely different policy in the UN. We are increasingly criticizing it. But, unfortunately, we have nothing to replace the UN with today. You can criticize, but there is no replacement. We need to go faster not for the sake of replacement, but in order to see what will happen next. It is not so much Belarus who needs to act fast, but they, the large BRICS and SCO states. If we miss the time, we will never make up for it. Whoever runs faster now will be in the forefront for several decades to come. Therefore we need to align the integration efforts," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
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