MOSCOW, 9 September (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has arrived in Russia on a working visit, BelTA has learned.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to hold talks in the Kremlin in the afternoon.
The heads of state will once again review 28 Union State programs prepared by the governments of the two countries, and also consider other issues on the bilateral and international agenda. One of the topics will be the situation in Afghanistan, especially in view with the upcoming summits of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Dushanbe in mid-September.
As BelTA reported earlier, the parties have reached a consensus on all the 28 Union State programs at the governmental level and are on the home stretch. The presidents will give their verdict to the work done as to whether the programs are ready for signing in the form and structure they have been submitted. The main emphasis is on the sustainability of the economic development of the two states.
The Union State programs include the agreements on economic integration, which embraces the alignment of macroeconomic policies, monetary aspects, industrial and agrarian policies, customs administration, tax legislation, consumer protection, competition and trade.
The programs also deal with the energy industry, including the development of the common markets, nuclear energy and the transport market.
The Union State programs suggest unifying social and labor laws, ensuring equality of rights of citizens of Belarus and Russia.
Work on the appropriate documents has been carried out for the past three years and furthers the provisions enshrined in the 1999 Union State Treaty.
The presidents are expected to sign the programs at a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State due in October - November. If Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin reach a final agreement at the talks on 9 September, then the appropriate documents in purview of the governments can be signed the next day as Minsk hosts a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers on 10 September.
In case the strategic documents are adopted, the parties will navigate by them in the next few years. Some are designed for 2024-2025 and others for 2027. The programs do not deal with any political issues, especially those related to the loss of sovereignty.
