MINSK, 20 June (BelTA) – It is high time the Union State built a fully sovereign financial system, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, Chairman of the International Affairs Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Andrei Savinykh said at a meeting of the 62nd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia in Minsk on 20 June, BelTA has learned.
"Last year, the trade between Russia and Belarus hit a record high of $38.5 billion. The steady growth trend remains in place. Alas, we still calculate trade in U.S. dollars, although it is high time we abandoned the use of foreign currencies and built our own system of settlements to pay for trade supplies and to create a fully sovereign financial system. I believe that this represents a huge potential for sustainable sectoral development and long-term investments," Andrei Savinykh said.
He urged the Parliaments of the two countries to strengthen operational cooperation to make appropriate changes to laws, to adopt new legislative acts establishing a single legal regulation in Belarus and Russia. "I want to emphasize the importance of coordinating this process, both at the level of governments and appropriate ministries, and at the level of the Union State, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. Secondly, we need to use the economic sanctions of the collective West as the starting point for a new industrialization. Thus, we will be able to build the full technological sovereignty of the Union State, from import substitution to new industries and manufacture of new products we need, and move towards global leadership in key sectors meeting the needs of our citizens,” the MP added. "Then our adversaries will not only be humbled but will completely lose the opportunity to threaten our progressive social and economic development, as well as the well-being of our people."
The session of the Parliamentary Assembly of Belarus and Russia is running in Minsk. The PA will consider the main lines of work to counter the external challenges and threats, sanctions and Nazi propaganda, and to protect the historical memory. The PA will approve the new memberships of the commissions and elect their chairpersons.
Plans are in place to vest the commissions with the functions of legislative support to ensure the execution of the Union State programs approved by Decree No. 6 "On the major guidelines to implement the Union State Treaty for 2021-2023" of the Supreme State Council of the Union State on 4 November 2021.
