President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Ms Kochanova, Ms Matviyenko, friends,
I am delighted to send my greetings to the participants and organisers of the 13th Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus which takes place, as usual, ahead of the Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus. Celebrated on July 3, it marks the anniversary of Minsk’s liberation from Nazi invaders.
Let me convey my heartfelt congratulations to all our friends in Belarus on this national holiday. Russia will always remember that our two nations stood shoulder to shoulder during the Great Patriotic War and endured immense sacrifices to defend their freedom and independence, as well as to bring peace to Europe and the entire humankind.
Importantly, Russia and Belarus have been cherishing and expanding their traditions of brotherly friendship and mutual support while reinforcing their historical, cultural and spiritual bonds. Russia and Belarus have forged a genuinely strategic relationship, and the Union State we form serves as a model of mutually beneficial and equal integration. It makes a tangible contribution to deepening cooperation within associations such as the Eurasian Economic Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation.
Region-to-region ties serve as one of the main drivers of Russia’s partnership with Belarus and efforts to develop the Union State. They offer a solid foundation for steadily advancing cooperation between our two countries across various tracks, including in politics and security, social and humanitarian affairs, and in the economy, of course.
Held regularly, the forums of regions bring together representatives of federal and local governments, legislators and business leaders, as well as experts and civil society activists – all those who are committed to establishing and developing direct contacts between Russian and Belarusian regions.
This year, over 600 delegates from 73 regions of the Russian Federation arrived in the capital of Belarus, including governors, heads of regional legislative assemblies, members of parliament, ministers, and corporate executives. Belarus has an equally prominent delegation at the forum.
A solid package of agreements and business contracts signed during the forum demonstrates our shared commitment to achieving tangible results.
The topic you are discussing – Economic Cooperation of Regions – Foundation for Sustainable Development of Russia and Belarus – is extremely relevant in today’s world. Let me note that it is largely thanks to close region-to-region economic ties that we were able to set a new record in our bilateral trade last year. According to our statistics, it was equal to US$52 billion. This year, this growth pattern is set to continue with a 7 percent increase in the first quarter. Our countries have been carrying out all their transactions in national currencies.
There has been a proactive effort to harmonise laws governing trade, investment and finance. We are unifying our approaches to customs and tax administration and are introducing a unified quality control framework. The Union State Committee for Standardisation and Quality held its first meeting during this forum.
Russia is second to none in terms of accumulated investment in the Belarusian economy, with about US$4 billion in investment. Companies with Russian capital operate across all regions of Belarus – their overall number is about 2,500.
Our regions have been working hard on 26 joint import substitution projects in high-technology sectors. For example, the Moscow Region and its Belarusian partners are making advanced mining equipment, the Novosibirsk Region produces parts for machine tool industry, and the Minsk Tractor Works has an assembly line in Tatarstan.
Belarusian civil aviation plants have established industrial cooperation ties with the inter-regional cluster formed by the Irkutsk, Ulyanovsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Voronezh regions – it works on making the MC-21 and Sukhoi Superjet-100 aircraft. Design bureaus in the Sverdlovsk and Brest regions are working on the project to develop the Osvey light multi-purpose aircraft.
Integral and Planar, the two leading Belarusian plants, supply components for making electronics in Tatarstan, the Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow regions. Companies in Moscow, St Petersburg and Minsk have built effective cooperation chains for making optical and photonics devices for communications systems, data transfers and information technology.
There are direct passenger flights from 10 Russian regions to Belarus. In April, we launched cross-border commuter train services linking Smolensk to Vitebsk and Smolensk to Orsha. There are plans to launch commuter service between Velikiye Luki and Vitebsk, Velikiye Luki and Polotsk, and between Bryansk and Gomel, as well as to build a high-speed railway linking Moscow and Minsk.
Russian regions have offered their railway and port infrastructure for transporting Belarusian exports. We are gradually moving towards a permissionless transit framework for carrying Russian and Belarusian goods to third countries by road.
Efforts to promote humanitarian, people-to-people ties at the regional level have been enjoying positive momentum. There are hundreds of creative events and projects organised every year in culture, science, sports, as well as educational and academic exchanges. The Slavyansky Bazar in Vitebsk international arts festival has always been very popular.
There are plans to create an information centre in Smolensk so that anyone can get information about exhibitions, presentations, concerts and other cultural, historical and commemorative events in the two countries.
I will also mention a motor rally which started on Monday. It covers 18 Russian and 6 Belarusian regions, and its participants will visit 11 Hero Cities. The forum titled Great Heritage – Shared Future, held recently in Brest by the Union State, was a major event on patriotic education and defending historical memory.
This is to say that region-to-region cooperation, in keeping with the topic for this year’s forum, is in fact one of the key elements in the strategic partnership and allied relations between Russia and Belarus. We hope that you will remain just as proactive as you are today in promoting mutual contacts which, in turn, will help strengthen our interstate relations in all their aspects for the well-being and prosperity of our nations.
I wish the participants and organisers of the forum of regions in Minsk every success and all the best.
Thank you for your attention.