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Belarus prime minister hails CIS as important integration platform

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MINSK, 20 May (BelTA) – For Belarus the Commonwealth of Independent States is an important platform for integration in various spheres. Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko made the statement at a regular videoconference session of the CIS Heads of Government Council on 20 May, BelTA has learned.

Roman Golovchenko said: “For the Republic of Belarus the Commonwealth of Independent States remains one of the most important platforms for integration in politics, economic, social and cultural affairs, and other fields. This is why I confirm our readiness to most actively participate in the implementation of this year’s presidency program Kazakhstan has suggested.”

The official remarked that in 2021 despite all the complications the CIS states managed to not only overcome pandemic-related crisis economic phenomena in the Commonwealth thanks to joint efforts but also managed to exceed pre-COVID figures. The CIS’s GDP rose by 5% in 2021. The volume of mutual trade of the CIS states totaled $230 billion, 32.6% up from 2020, the prime minister said.

Yet, in his words, the economic situation got worse in 2022. “It has yet to affect the volume of trade inside the Commonwealth of Independent States but there are already negative consequences for Belarus’ foreign trade with partners in the CIS. For instance, Belarusian shipments have dropped, in particular, to Tajikistan and Turkmenistan,” Roman Golovchenko added.

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