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Belarus, Russia approve Union State budget for 2013

MOSCOW, 13 December (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia have approved the Union State budget for 2013. The budget will be as large as $160 million, Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich told reporters following the session of the Union State Council of Ministers on 12 December, BelTA has learnt.

The Union State officials passed four Union State programs in telecommunication technologies, composite materials and space technologies. All these projects are designed to achieve long-term goals, the Belarusian Premier said.

In his words, almost all the matters included in the agenda of the session were harmonized. “A high-level group of the Union State Permanent Committee will discuss individual matters of Belarus-Russia integration,” the Premier said.

On 12 December Belarus and Russia resolved many issues related to infrastructure development, including border security and regional group of forces. A decision was made to liberalize the access of pharmaceutical companies, research and development companies and road carriers to the markets of the two countries.

The Union State officials agreed on mutual recognition of licenses, certificates and other authorization documents.

The participants of the session adopted an action plan to promote SMEs in the Union State. The action plan is set to run until 2015. It will support new business projects and ensure equal operation terms. According to Mikhail Myasnikovich, the potential of the bilateral cooperation is huge. He informed that over the nine months 2012 Belarus received $3.7 billion in foreign direct investments from Russia. Belarus invested $1.5 billion in Russia over this period.

The Premier welcomed the progress in trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Russia. He expressed confidence that the bilateral trade will exceed $40 billion. He added that the parties outlined about five joint projects. “In the near future the Dvorkovich-Semashko group will give the necessary impetus to this work,” the Premier said.

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