MOSCOW, 21 January (BelTA) – The High-Level Group of the Council of Ministers of the Union State of Belarus and Russia is expanding the scope of the matters it deals with. The group's sessions are becoming more regular. State Secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Grigory Rapota made the relevant statement after a session of the High-Level Group of the Council of Ministers of the Union State of Belarus and Russia on 21 January, BelTA has learned.
The official said: “Indeed, the scope is expanding. We are looking deeper into specific things concerning economic interaction. Then, the heads of the group – Vladimir Semashko and Aleksei Overchuk – have expressed their desire and readiness to host sessions rather regularly, at least every two or three months. Experience indicates that we accumulate a sufficient number of issues that need to be addressed.”
Grigory Rapota said that during today's session they discussed 11 matters primarily concerning commercial activities and mutual relations of commercial entities. Those included the provision of bank guarantees for deals, the connection of phytosanitary control information systems, and relations between individual commercial entities. Apart from that, the expansion of the lists of the commodities Belarus and Russia trade in with each and agree every year was discussed.
Grigory Rapota added that the sides had decided to hold the next session of the High-Level Group in two months.
The session was hosted by the co-chairmen of the High-Level Group: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Russia Vladimir Semashko, who is vested with the authority of a deputy prime minister, and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksei Overchuk. State Secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Grigory Rapota, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev, Executive Secretary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Sergei Strelchenko, heads of industry-specific Belarusian and Russian ministries, and representatives of the Standing Committee of the Union State of Belarus and Russia took part in the session.
