G. Rapota: Each of the countries of the Union State has chosen its own approach to the fight against coronavirus and it is important to respect their decisions
09:41, 1 July
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when countries are focused on stabilizing the situation, it is important to avoid losing what has been achieved. Belarus and Russia need to remember successes achieved within the Union State. It is also important not to stop the bilateral dialogue. This opinion was expressed by the State Secretary of the Union State during the expert session “Russia and Belarus: Future after the Pandemic,” reports the Union State portal.
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Grigory Rapota stated that each of the countries of the Union State had chosen its own approach to the fight against coronavirus and it was important to respect their decisions. After the pandemic, they need to share their professional experience in order to determine which treatment methods are the most and which are less effective.
“It may be that the pandemic exacerbated some of the existing contradictions in the bilateral relations. But our achievements turn into a stabilizing factor. Therefore, we should not lose what has already been achieved. There is a lot of good stuff in our relations,” believes the State Secretary.
As examples of successful Belarusian-Russian cooperation, Grigory Rapota mentioned the free movement of citizens within the Union State as well as the possibility of their free employment. Belarus and Russia have also established close cooperation in scientific, technical and military-industrial spheres. In addition, Belarus is an important economic partner for Russia.
“At the moment, it is important not to stop the bilateral dialogue. During the pandemic, it took a lot of effort to maintain the rhythm of the relations. Tomorrow the High-level Group is meeting online. There are issues that need to be addressed. Then, the meetings of the Union State Council of Ministers and the Supreme State Council should take place. We also want to expand Union State programmes and complete work on roadmaps. I believe it is important to always turn back to the question: why is the Union State necessary? By answering it, we will be able to determine what we need to do in the future,” said Grigory Rapota.
The expert session “Russia and Belarus: Future after the Pandemic” is held by the A. Gromyko Association of Foreign Policy Studies with the support of the Union State Standing Committee. Among the issues discussed by the conference participants are the prospects for the development and preservation of the Union State, the ways to overcome the economic “coronacrisis”, large-scale infrastructure projects, new areas of cooperation, the increasing role of science, reforms in the healthcare system, etc.
