Plenary session of the 1st Forum of Regions of Belarus and Uzbekistan
Belarus and Uzbekistan need to harmonize national laws governing trade, Chairman of the Council of the Republic Mikhail Myasnikovich said at the opening of the plenary session of the 1st Forum of Regions of Belarus and Uzbekistan in Minsk on 30 July.
The speaker voiced a number of proposals to enhance bilateral cooperation. For example, Mikhail Myasnikovich urged to “harmonize the national trade laws in order to align the trade regimes and create a comfortable environment for business.”
Mikhail Myasnikovich invited inter-parliamentary and intergovernmental commissions to take stock the Belarus-Uzbekistan legal framework (includes 60 international instruments and agreements), complement it and update it within 2019 and 2020.
“Currently the country conditions differ significantly from each other, which hampers the growth of mutual trade and investment. The parliaments and governments need to remove the existing barriers,” the chairman of the Council of the Republic said.
Investment is key to successful cooperation, Mikhail Myasnikovich believes. “Until we have major joint companies or, which is better, financial-industrial groups, our economic relations will not be as steady as we would like them to,” said Mikhail Myasnikovich. “Only joint business, possibly with the participation of companies from third countries, may become a driver of active development,” he believes.
According to the speaker, Belarus and Uzbekistan have few big joint companies, and those that exist are facing difficulties due to tariff and nontariff regulations. “There is no need to dramatize the situation. These issues require joint attention of diplomats, MPs and, first of all, by parent companies. We are confident we will find mutually beneficial solutions,” the chairman of the Council of the Republic said.
He also spoke in favor of more innovative projects between Belarus and Uzbekistan. “Without science, research, sci-tech and education programs it is impossible to achieve high competitive performance,” Mikhail Myasnikovich said.
