MOSCOW, 9 November (BelTA) – Belarus-Russia trade will reach record high figures this year. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Russia Vladimir Semashko made the relevant statement at a meeting of experts held on 9 November to discuss Union State programs, new challenges, and integration directions in Belarusian-Russian relations in 2021, BelTA has learned.
The ambassador said: “Thanks to joint measures Belarus-Russia trade rose by 35% in January-August 2021 to $25 billion. We intend to secure record figures in our economic relations this year – about $37-38 billion. Russia accounts for nearly half of Belarus' foreign trade. In turn, Belarus, China, Germany, and Netherlands are Russia's top four trade partners.”
The expert meeting “Russian-Belarusian relations in 2021: Union State programs, new challenges, and integration directions” was organized by the A.A. Gromyko Association for Foreign Policy Studies. The event took place using videoconference technologies and premises of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Representatives of Belarusian and Russian government agencies, agencies of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, Belarusian and Russian experts took part in it. They discussed three topics: this year's results in Belarusian-Russian relations, top-priority tasks concerning the realization of Union State programs, and integration beyond the framework of Union State programs, in particular, what needs to be done within the next 2-3 years.
