Lukashenko told in what directions Belarus and Russia should accelerate

This year gives grounds to assert with cautious optimism that Belarus and Russia are coping well with economic challenges – as stated by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, during a meeting with journalists following the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin

“Unexpectedly for ourselves, we are revealing our huge potential, which at other times we simply did not see or did not believe in it. Meanwhile, speed is needed in making and implementing decisions. Time is more important than money now. This is the essence of our today’s negotiations,” the Belarusian leader emphasised.

He noted that during the talks with Vladimir Putin they discussed the progress regarding the implementation of the general plan for economic development: 28 Union State programmes.

“So far, about 60 percent of the total number of tasks identified by these programmes have been completed. A number of system-forming documents in the customs sphere and taxation have been signed. We need to build on our success. Programmes which envisage the creation of unified energy markets, the formation of a unified industrial and agricultural policy, and the unification of the regulation of the transport market are of key importance. These issues will ensure equal conditions for the activities of business entities and access of goods to public procurement. We decided to speed up across all these areas,” the Belarusian leader stressed.