GRODNO, 1 July (BelTA) - The Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia has become an integral part of the system of Russian-Belarusian strategic partnership, Chairwoman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko said at the plenary session of the 9th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia in Grodno on 1 July, BelTA has learned.
"Today we can safely say that the Forum of Regions has become an integral part of the system of Russian-Belarusian strategic partnership. Every year, interregional cooperation continues to gain momentum, and we have already reached a qualitatively new level of interregional cooperation in industry, agriculture, education and science. We have implemented a number of important joint initiatives in the humanitarian and information sectors," said Valentina Matviyenko.
Such a high level of integration has been achieved primarily thanks to the personal position of the leaders of Russia and Belarus - Vladimir Putin and Aleksandr Lukashenko, the speaker noted. "The heads of state are very familiar with the interregional cooperation agenda and pay great attention to the work of the forum. We really appreciate this and thank them for such continued strong support. Of course, this motivates us to achieve tangible results in the most important areas of the Union State agenda. In this regard, I would like to note that this forum is the first after the approval of the 28 comprehensive Union State programs by our presidents. Today, these are our main integration documents aimed at creating the common economic and social space, improving the quality of people's lives and ensuring the security of the Union State. During the forum, we pay special attention to their implementation in the interregional context," she stressed.
The plenary session brought together heads of ministries and departments, government agencies, enterprises and organizations, representatives of business communities of Belarus and Russia.
