Business Cooperation Council meeting within the 8th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia

Within the framework of the 8^th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia, the Business Cooperation Council meeting was held, organized by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation in cooperation with the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The event was held via videoconference at the platforms of the BelCCI and the CCI of Russia.

The event was attended by the Chairman of the BelCCI Vladimir Ulakhovich, the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Sergey Katyrin, the Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus on Economy, Budget and Finance Tatiana Runets, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Ivan Abramov, heads of regional chambers of commerce and industry of Belarus and Russia, more than 120 business representatives of the two countries.

The topic of the meeting was "Union State economy. The lessons of the pandemic and integration development prospects". The meeting participants talked over the current state and prospects for further deepening cooperation at the regional level, the inter-chamber interaction development, the impact of the pandemic on bilateral cooperation, successful joint projects, issues of ensuring equal access of Russian and Belarusian entities to the markets of the two countries, as well as other systemic issues arising in mutual trade and the export of products to third countries.

As Tatiana Runets, Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus on Economy, Budget and Finance, noted, the meeting of the Business Cooperation Council has become a good tradition and an important component of the Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia. "It is a really effective platform for discussing topical issues of bilateral cooperation, primarily in trade, economic, industrial, and investment spheres," she stressed.

"During the post-COVID recovery, both the state and the business community are solving comprehensive problems in order to ensure sustainable growth, effectively and consistently develop their competitive advantages, and strengthen their investment potential. In solving these problems, an important role is played by the factor of integration, the established ties between businesspeople and regions of our countries," Tatiana Runets noted.

The Chairman of the BelCCI stressed that despite the fact that the pandemic affected bilateral trade and economic interaction, business is interested in building specific projects, working effectively against all the restrictions. In addition, there are ample opportunities for cooperation at the regional level. "The success of the integration of Belarus and Russia will depend on the scale of the implementation of joint projects between our countries, the deepening of cooperation between business entities. These are the areas that can become the basis for further cooperation within the Union State," Vladimir Ulakhovich noted.