Mezentsev: timeframe for Union State programmes to accelerate significantly

This was stated today by State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev on the eve of a meeting with representatives of ministries and departments of Belarus who are state customers of the Union State programmes and activities, implemented at the expense of the Union State budget

“The meeting is dedicated to the introduction of a new procedure for working on the Union State programmes, established by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Union State,” the State Secretary outlined the essence of the meeting to the media. “It determines the period of work on the draft programme not 3-4 years, as before, but not more than one year. The limit of the programme has been determined; at the first stage it will cost no more than 500m Russian Roubles. It is also important to analyse what has been done. Four programmes continue since the past year, and we see four new programmes that will be introduced this year. Three of them are devoted to issues of border security and the development of the Union State regional group.

Another programme is dedicated to the identification of membrane proteins. This work is driven by the need to research viruses, the importance of which is evident in light of the difficulties caused by the recent coronavirus pandemic. Scientists from Belarus and Russia will participate in these studies under the supervision of the two countries’ healthcare ministries.

“Today we are saying that the practice of working in this format is successful,” the State Secretary stressed. “Thus, 68 programmes of the Union State have been implemented. We have determined the forecast of work until 2027. It was especially important for me to report on the practice of this work to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. Also, at the beginning of this year, I presented a detailed report to the President of the Republic of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, that today we are increasing the number of possible projects and activities of the Union State.”

In relation to the previous year, the number of such programmes increased by a third. Significant funds have been allocated for this: almost 2bn Russian Roubles. These are events of an educational direction, in the field of culture, support of civil-patriotic initiatives, particularly, the work on museumification of the Brest Fortress objects will be continued. The Standing Committee of the Union State also supported the proposal of the defence ministries of Belarus and Russia and the culture ministries to establish a centre for patriotic education, presumably on the Kobrin borders of the Brest Fortress. It will have to present the scale of the feat of the Soviet soldier during the Great Patriotic War, become a platform for discussions between the youth of the two countries about the present and future of Belarus and Russia.