VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Statement by Sergei Sidorsky:
At today's meeting of the Union State's Council of Ministers we have reviewed over 20 issues, relating to the implementation of decisions made by the Union State's bodies, including the results of Russian-Belarusian trade and economic cooperation, guidelines for forming a common scientific-technological space and implementing joint scientific-technological and innovative programmes.
Due to increasing trade and economic cooperation, the bilateral trade turnover grew by almost 60% in the first eight months of this year against the same period last year, totaling 581 billion roubles ($22.19 billion, or €16.34 billion).
Today Mr Putin and I noted that we had an increase of more than 30% last year, and this year the figure is 60%, which is nearly twice as high. This is the highest trade turnover growth rate among all the CIS countries.
We remain a major trade and economic partner of the Russian Federation, ranking among the leaders in Russia's foreign trade as of the end of the first six months of this year. The trade turnover growth is achieved primarily by boosting mutual supplies of a wide range of goods required by businesses in our two countries.
Today we focused on budget issues, including the implementation of the 2008 budget and development programmes for this and next year. Today we have discussed a number of programmes which go beyond the usual technology projects. These are high-tech programmes, including nanotechnology.
I was pleased to learn that the National Academy of Sciences and the Russian colleagues have reported on progress in certain research, which means that we will soon see new enterprises capable of manufacturing high-technology products in Russia and Belarus in the near future.
The Union State budget for 2009 will be increased by over 20%. Mr Putin and I have agreed to consider any additional programmes proposed by our countries' ministries and expand the budget to ensure deeper integration of our economies.
We have also discussed customs infrastructure development, noting with satisfaction that Russian and Belarusian customs tariffs are 96% unified. To finalise the unification of our laws, we have to do a little more work on several hundred commodity items, which do not determine the commodity turnover between our two countries.
New foreign trade prospects have emerged for the Union State, as in the recent 15 years we have thoroughly modernised and equipped our customs offices to match European standards.
I think we will consider these issues at a Union Government meeting in December.
We have also discussed a number of issues relating to the common information space, rules of procedure for Government meetings and implementation of decisions made at previous Union Government meetings, and we have agreed that these issues are important for the development of our relations.
Our main goal is to ensure that our citizens enjoy high living standards and to adopt the package of relevant documents to be ready in the near future.
In October, the Belarusian legislative body will approve the laws regarding the property of the Union State. The Russian Federation will finalise the package of uniform rules determining the relations of Belarusian and Russian citizens within the joint Union State. The unification of these documents is nearing completion.
Thank you.
Statement by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin:
Colleagues, I would like to thank both Russian and Belarusian experts and heads of the permanent Committee for their effective work, for the thorough preparations for the meeting of the Union State's Council of Ministers.
As you know, I have had a highly informative conversation with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko before this meeting, where we discussed a range of essential issues, including the main areas of integration between Russia and Belarus.
We intend to continue shaping the common economic space and building a real customs union, as my counterpart has said. We will certainly coordinate the efforts with our third key partner, Kazakhstan.
I am convinced that Russia and Belarus should act as a driving force of integration. Direct contacts between specific ministries and departments certainly play a major role here, and so do the working agencies set up at the Union State Council of Ministers - the commission on tariff and non-tariff limitations and the coordination commission for a common transport system.
We thoroughly studied union budget issues at the Council meeting, including the current budget execution and the work on the 2009 draft budget. The draft envisions further improvement of our joint efforts and larger allocations for cooperative programmes. We have over 40 joint programmes planned for next year.
We also discussed proposals to draw up innovative union programmes, such as nanotechnologies, as Mr Sidorsky said. Cooperation on such programmes is certainly of high mutual interest. Russian space agency will represent Russia on these programmes, which is important, because it suggests taking our cooperation on to peaceful space exploration, which is another high-tech domain.
We have in fact started shaping a common research and technology space. We have agreed on closer cooperation in telecoms and IT.
We decided to accelerate the evaluation of Union assets and work out an effective asset management system, especially considering the imminent enforcement of the Union State Property Agreement.
The Council of Ministers also discussed the 2009 draft maintenance plan for the Russia-Belarus regional group of forces. This is an important issue directly linked to bolstering both countries' security.
We also discussed humanitarian and cultural ties between Russia and Belarus, which are no doubt crucial for sound integration between the two peoples.
In conclusion, I would like to thank all the participants in this forum for their purposeful and profound work. I appreciate the warm welcome our Belarusian friends and colleagues have given us, and the comfortable environment they provided for our cooperative work. Thank you very much.
Question (S. Semenov, Channel One TV): Mr Putin, how thoroughly did the Council discuss the current global financial crisis which has moved from the United States to Europe as you said? What do you think of the possible implications for the CIS economies, including Russia?
Vladimir Putin: We have discussed the situation in great detail. We went through the financial interaction between Russia and Belarus and the joint efforts we should make.
As far as Russia is concerned, the government has adopted an anti-crisis package of measures to protect the Russian economy. We are closely following the adverse processes in the Western economic and financial systems, first in the United States and now in Europe.
We have set up a working group to monitor these processes in real time and generate appropriate solutions. The Government and the Presidential Executive Office in fact have a joint working group. I am doing my best to contribute to their work, and so does President Dmitry Medvedev.
