MINSK, 9 September (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has left for the Russian Federation on a working visit. The aircraft with the head of state on board has left Minsk National Airport, 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 discuss 28 Union State programs prepared by the governments of the two countries, and also other issues on the bilateral agenda and international affairs. One of the topics will be the situation in Afghanistan, especially in connection 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, there is a consensus on all the 28 Union State programs at the governmental level and the parties have entered the home stretch in the matter. The presidents will have to evaluate the work done and decide whether the programs are ready for signing in the form and structure they are now. The main emphasis in the documents is on the sustainability of the states' economic development.
The Union State programs include agreements in economic integration. These are such areas as the alignment of macroeconomic policy, monetary aspects, industrial, agrarian policy and customs administration, tax legislation, consumer protection, competition and trade activities.
The programs are also devoted to the energy complex, including the development of unified markets, the development of nuclear energy. There is also a program on common approaches in the transport market.
The Union State programs cover the unification of social and labor aspects, equality of rights of Belarusian and Russian citizens, and organization of the tourism sector.
