MINSK, 9 June (BelTA) – The integration is instrumental in fighting back against the Western sanctions, Chairman of the Belarusian State Control Committee Vasily Gerasimov said at a joint meeting of the boards of the State Control Committee of Belarus and the Accounts Chamber of Russia, BelTA has learned.
“This year we celebrated the 25 years of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, which marked the brand new stage in the Belarusian-Russian integration. This has reaffirmed the cohesion of our peoples and commitment to cooperating in all areas of life, be it politics, economy, science, education, culture and security. Joint projects are in demand and yield practical results. A landmark event last year was the approval by the Supreme State Council of 28 Union State programs to advance the Russian-Belarusian integration across a very wide range of interaction: agriculture, industry, energy, social affairs and others. The integration is instrumental in fighting back against the Western sanctions," Vasily Gerasimov said.
The boards of the State Control Committee of Belarus and the Accounts Chamber of Russia are set to review the results of the external audit of the execution of the Union State budget for 2021 and the results of the joint audit of the Belarusian-Russian University.
"The growing requirements to budgetary and financial discipline in all areas of life mean increased obligations for the financial watchdogs. As always, our main task is to ensure the targeted and effective use of budget funds and their high-quality planning,” Vasily Gerasimov said. “Belarus and Russia fully comply with their obligations regarding gratuitous transfers. This allows us to meet the goals and, accordingly, to advance the integration, strengthen ties between business entities, regions and our countries as a whole. At the same time, we have to admit that the earmarked funds have not yet been fully used. We are also concerned over the reduction of Union State programs and a lack of projects. There are shortcomings and violations in the use of budget funds. Today we are going to discuss these and other issues and to develop the necessary solutions to improve the efficiency the budget process at all stages."
The financial watchdogs also suggests reformatting the media landscape of the Union State, setting up a media holding company based on a multimedia resource (television and radio broadcasting, internet) and further developing printed publications of the Union State.
As for the audit of the Belarusian-Russian University, the financial watchdogs established that, in general, the parties have fulfilled the agreement between the governments of Belarus and Russia to set up the university. Certain shortcomings in financial and economic activities of the university have been identified.
