Integration makes us stronger

During the 10th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia, held at the end of June in Russian Ufa, much attention was paid to new joint projects aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the economies of two countries. Presidents of Belarus and Russia, Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin, made vivid video messages at the plenary session of the forum.

The 10th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia was held in Russian Ufa

The President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko:

‘The greatest assets’

— It is symbolic that the anniversary edition of the forum is taking place in Ufa, the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the region with a rich history and culture, located in the very heart of Eurasia. I think the Russian side was right when it decided to expand the geography of the forum and arrange it in different regions of the Russian Federation. It is important for us that Russians living thousands of kilometres away from our country know more about Belarus, see clearly the prospects of Belarus-Russia partnership. Belarusian goods and skill sets are in demand in Russia’s large cities, industrial towns, in the regions, including remote ones, beyond the Urals, in Siberia, Khabarovsk Territory, in Kamchatka. Our fraternal Bashkortostan is no exception. We complement each other in the supply of raw materials, component parts, industrial products. We address the common task of promoting import substitution and technological sovereignty. 
Yet, the greatest assets are human relations, a common history, culture, mindset, a traditional view of the family, respect for elders, great prospects and support for young people.

‘No obstacles to co-operation’

— Even in the most difficult times, Belarus and Russia kept promoting inter-regional contacts. It helped us survive amidst the collapse of statehood and the interruption of established economic ties after the disintegration of a great country. Now strong relations help us to withstand a new attack from the West on all fronts: economic, political, ideological, information, cultural and others. The uniqueness of the partnership between the countries lies in the fact that from the very beginning the system of interaction between Belarus and Russia was built on the idea to ensure self-sufficiency of economic ties and technological sovereignty of the two states. This advantage must be used as much as possible. This is what we are doing. 
In fact, all the necessary decisions have been made by the Presidents. The regions that directly have resources, both human, material and financial, have no obstacles to co-operation.

‘The basic principle of partnership’

— In the current conditions, there is no need to convince anyone, neither in Russia nor in Belarus, of the advantages of our partnership. The responsibility of local authorities, business and society has noticeably increased. And things got off the ground. Mutual trade in goods and services exceeded a record $50 billion last year. Of course, economics is the basis of co-operation. It should be so, because the economy is the basis of any social processes… In general, our positions remain unchanged — no barriers and restrictions in interaction. This is the basic principle of partnership. 

‘We have many interesting ideas’

— We need to increase our competitiveness by deepening industrial co-operation, to address issues of specialisation, import substitution, primarily in microelectronics and other high-tech industries, to make the most of interregional trade, to develop transport and logistics corridors, and to find additional drivers to further integration processes. 
Belarus is ready to participate in the modernisation of key sectors of the Russian economy, the creation of joint ventures.
 We have many ideas that can be interesting and relevant for Russian regions. These are co-operation projects in agriculture, construction, mechanical engineering, woodworking, equipment supplies, production of component parts, food production, light industry, space exploration, pharmaceutics.

‘An effective dialogue platform’

— Science, culture and education are also important elements of the Belarus-Russia co-operation. This is eloquently confirmed, among other things, by the results achieved during the past nine forums of the regions. There are 81 agreements on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural co-operation between the Republic of Belarus and 73 regions of the Russian Federation. 
The forum has become an effective dialogue platform where relevant decisions are made. It is important that representatives of various spheres - politics, business, culture, and science are at the forefront of developing these decisions. This is what they call people’s diplomacy and it is proving its effectiveness.

‘The most important conditions for peace in our common land’

— Today, the Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia needs to step beyond the Union State format and intensify co-operation with the Commonwealth of Independent States, the SCO, BRICS, ASEAN and everyone who is willing to be friends and work with us. We must make the forum a centre that generates interregional ideas, projects and initiatives… I often say that the Union State of Belarus and Russia is not a private members’ club. We are not against anyone. 
I will say more: Belarusians and Russians are interested in the development of the entire Eurasian region as a whole. We want all our neighbours to be economically successful. These are the most important conditions for the continent’s well-being and for peace in our common land. 
If the Western European partners suddenly decide to support the principle of universal economic equilibrium and mutually beneficial co-operation, then we will not be against joint similar events. All the same, they will eventually return to co-operation with us. 

The President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

‘The heart of truly allied relations’

— The co-operation between regions, which is growing stronger from year to year, is the heart of truly allied relations between Russia and Belarus, integration processes within the framework of the Union State. 
Mutually beneficial multifaceted contacts are maintained among themselves by almost all subjects of the Russian Federation and all regions of Belarus. 
At the same time, our Far East, Siberia, the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol began to more actively build partnerships with Belarusian colleagues. Interest in connecting to interregional co-operation is also shown by new regions of Russia. 

‘Positive trend is getting stronger’

— Belarus is the first partner of Russia among the CIS members in terms of trade volume and the fourth in the world. 
Last year, trade increased by 12 percent and exceeded three trillion rubles.
 This positive trend is getting stronger. In January-April, mutual trade added another 11 percent. Such high indicators have become possible thanks to the active integration work carried out, including through the regions. This work is aimed at removing trade and administrative barriers, at convergence of the legislations of the two countries, at coordinated solutions to the problems of national development and improving the well-being of citizens.

‘To create the most equal conditions for the activities of economic entities’ 

— Since 2021, 28 sectoral programmes approved by the Supreme State Council have been consistently implemented. 
Their main purpose is to create the most equal conditions for the activities of economic entities in our countries. 
Common financial and energy markets and transport space are being built together. Coordinated macroeconomic, technological, industrial, agricultural, and digital policies are being pursued. Russia and Belarus are doing everything to ensure the stability of their economies, their immunity to the negative impact of sanctions. Naturally, it is difficult to achieve success in this matter without a close interregional partnership. One could say it’s even unrealistic.

‘Russian and Belarusian regions are intensively developing mutual trade’

— Import-substituting investment projects totalling 80 billion rubles have been launched in a number of regions of Belarus, with Russian support. These are such industries as mechanical engineering, machine tool building, microelectronics and a number of others. 
Thus, a full cycle of competitive high-tech industries is being created. 
In the context of an unfavourable external environment, the refusal of Western countries to co-operate and the closure of their markets by unfriendly states, Russian and Belarusian regions are intensively developing mutual trade. This helps us maintain the manufacturing sectors, redirect supplies to consumers in our two countries. Thus, Belarus’ exports to Russia surged by more than 70 billion rubles thanks to shipments of machinery and equipment, food, chemical, textile and other products previously supplied to the West.