Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 20 December (BelTA) – Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan should not compete with each other, but unite their efforts instead, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Piotr Prokopovich said at a joint session of the Council of the Republic and the House of Representatives of the National Assembly on 20 December, BelTA has learnt.

The Vice Premier noted that the establishment of the Customs Union gave an additional impetus to the development of the Belarusian economy. Belarus also benefits from the establishment of the Single Economic Space and the work to set up the economic union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan that will become operational by 1 January 2015.

“This gives us confidence in the progressive development of our economies in the medium-term and short-term perspectives,” Piotr Prokopovich said. Thanks to that, Belarus will soon be part of the huge economy that extends to 1/6 part of the globe. “The integration has already generated some appreciable results. Since 2012 we have paid much less for energy resources. We save $4 billion every year since 2011. Starting from January 2015, when the Eurasian Economic Union is inaugurated, we will no longer pay for export of oil products. This will additionally generate $3.5-4 billion. We will get a number of other benefits on top of that. What matters most is our ability to make the most of these opportunities,” the Vice Premier said.

According to Piotr Prokopovich, it is important to abandon the stereotyped way of thinking that viewed the Customs Union member states as rivals. “The situation has changed; we are no longer competitors, but a team that should protect its market. This teamwork will help us promote our export of goods and services outside the Customs Union,” he said.

“Unfortunately, we still perceive each other as competitors, thus losing positions on our own market,” the Vice Premier said. There are various examples of it, including in mechanical engineering, Piotr Prokopovich noted. In order to reverse the situation, the Troika needs to unite efforts. “We should work on maximizing the degree of processing and minimizing the export of raw materials,” the Vice Premier said. The Belarusian government is working hard to fulfill this goal.