Golovchenko, Mishustin review status of Union State programs

"After the presidents of our countries approved the package of Union State programs, we developed a toolkit to monitor their implementation. Almost all action plans to the Union State programs have been signed. However, we do not need to limit ourselves to the Union State programs. It is very important to breathe new life into joint economic projects. It is important to find the projects that will involve business of the two countries and that will bolster the economic potential of our countries," Roman Golovchenko said. 

Mikhail Mishustin, for his part, stressed that Russia values fraternal and friendly relations with Belarus. "We consider it important to bring them to an even higher level and advance the integration in the Union State, to which we have attached great attention all year. Of course, we need to launch new projects across a wide range of mutual interests. This will allow us to form a common economic and social space in the Union State," the Russian head of government said.

The Russian prime minister urged to focus efforts on the Union State programs. "As for our trade and economic cooperation, in general, it has been growing nicely. In January-September alone it surged by almost 38% year-on-year to $ 27.5 billion,” he said.

Mikhail Mishustin also touched on the joint COVID-19 response efforts and noted that the countries fully resumed air traffic and increased the frequency of train service. The Russian head of government also suggested that Belarus and Russia advance cooperation in the field of education, science and culture.

"We also provide support to Belarus in dealing with the consequences of the illegitimate unilateral economic sanctions," he stressed. 

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council which is running in Yerevan, Armenia, on 18-19 November.