MINSK, 10 November (BelTA) – Belarus-Russia cooperation has been increasingly vibrant, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said at a joint press conference following the annual meeting of the Russian-Belarusian ministerial collegium in Moscow on 10 November, BelTA has learned.
"This year, Belarus-Russia has been increasingly vibrant. Intensive contacts at the highest and high levels, various formats of intergovernmental, inter-parliamentary and intersectoral cooperation make it possible to maintain a regular bilateral dialogue across an entire range of topics. This year has become a landmark year for the Union State. A large amount of work has been done to prepare and coordinate a new package of integration documents," the minister said.
This work culminated in the approval of the relevant documents at the 4 November meeting of the Supreme State Council. "These are really landmark documents. This means that in the near future, the allied relations between our states will reach a qualitatively new level, primarily in economy," Vladimir Makei emphasized.
According to him, this is especially important, taking into account the high growth rate of bilateral trade, despite the pandemic. "If this trend persists, we will not only restore the mutual merchandise trade to the pre-crisis 2019 by the end of 2021 but surpass it," Vladimir Makei is sure.
He noted that in the diplomatic dimension the task is to provide foreign policy support of the latest decisions of the Supreme Stat Council and the Council of Ministers of the Union State. The matter is also about the implementation of the current program of concerted actions in foreign policy. The parties have already prepared a new program for 2022-2023.
"In the context of the growing political and sanctions pressure of the West on our countries, Belarus and Russia continue to effectively coordinate positions on international and regional platforms, promote joint initiatives, provide each other with political and information support," Vladimir Makei said.
