MINSK, 23 June (BelTA) – We need to promote cooperation between the CIS and friendly integration associations, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Petrishenko said at a web-based meeting of the CIS Economic Council, BelTA has learned.
“Coordinating approaches to the development of cooperation between the CIS and friendly organizations and associations (the EAEU, the Union State, the SCO, ASEAN, BRICS) and aligning their activities is one of our priorities to make multilateral cooperation more effective and to strengthen national economies. In March of this year, we discussed a proposal to intensify cooperation between the CIS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We adopted a protocol decision to draft an action plan to the Memorandum of Understanding between the CIS Executive Committee and the SCO Secretariat. I propose that the Executive Committee report on the progress in this work at our next meeting,” Igor Petrishenko said.
He also touched upon the activities of the high-level working group to remove obstacles in mutual trade in the CIS. “We have been talking for years about the need to remove obstacles. We put together a real mechanism for collecting information, analyzing and removing obstacles. The next meeting of the group is scheduled for 4 July. I suggest the parties send their representatives to the event and the CIS Executive Committee report on the progress in the work at the next meeting of the CIS Heads of Government Council in Bishkek,” the deputy prime minister said.
Among the items on the agenda of the meeting are additions to the list of joint measures to respond to emerging problems of 10 June 2022 and the corresponding draft protocol decision. “The additions were proposed by experts of the parties, the sectoral cooperation bodies, the CIS Executive Committee. They are important, taking into account the current situation and are supported by the Belarusian side,” Igor Petrishenko said.
During a joint meeting in March of this year, the CIS Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives and the Commission on Economic Affairs at the CIS Economic Council considered the report on the results of the activities of the CIS sectoral cooperation bodies in 2022.
“The sectoral cooperation bodies have been given specific instructions to improve the efficiency of their work, to tune the decisions taken within the framework of the CIS to modern conditions, to include strategic issues in the agenda, to expand the representation of the CIS countries in these bodies, to make maximum use of modern information technologies, to cover their activities more widely in the media, including on internet, and to apply the latest forms and methods for this. I propose that the CIS Executive Committee summarize the information on the work of all sectoral cooperation bodies dealing with economic issues and submit a report at the next meeting of the CIS Economic Council in September,” the deputy prime minister said.
Igor Petrishenko also thanked the CIS Executive Committee for the information support, and the CIS member states for sending their delegations and athletes for the 2nd CIS Games. “We will be happy to welcome representatives of your countries to the main sporting event of the year,” he concluded.