UNION’S COUNCIL OF MINISTERS TO CONSIDER SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FORECAST FOR 2008
Union’s Council of Ministers to consider socio-economic development forecast for 2008
The socio-economic development forecast for 2008 will be considered at a session of Union’s Council of Ministers which will be held in Moscow on December 26.
“We should consider 17 issues. The socio-economic development forecast of the Belarus-Russia Union State is the most important of them. The budget for 2008 has been already adopted. There is a need to consider the balance of fuel-energy resources which is being agreed by experts now,” Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky noted during his meeting with State Secretary of the Union State Pavel Borodin. According to him, Belarus proposed to consider 4 additional issues concerning the international transport communication and industrial subsidies granting.
According to the Head of the Belarusian Government, the session will sum up the work of the Union State in 2007, outline the development prospects, discuss the draft agreements which will allow the economies of Belarus and Russia to develop more dynamic.
Belarus, Russia need to set up joint boards of ministries and governmental departments, Pavel Borodin says
Belarus and Russia need to create the joint boards of some ministries and governmental departments, State Secretary of the Union State Pavel Borodin said when meeting with Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky on December 21.
“We need to create the boards for agriculture issues, trade and economic cooperation. This would facilitate settling some issues, enhance the responsibility for implementing the decisions,” Pavel Borodin said.
A session of the Union State Council of Ministers will be held in Moscow on December 26. A set of economic issues relating to the cooperation of the two countries in customs sphere, energy supplies and monetary policy will be high on the agenda of the forthcoming session. According to Pavel Borodin, on December 20, the agreement on Russia’s $1.5 billion loan to Belarus was signed in Moscow. “I think that the matter will concern another loan worth of $2-3 billion,” he said.
The sides will discuss subsidies in agriculture in the Union State. According to Pavel Borodin, this issue is pressing. “We should clearly understand that Russia imports 50% of foodstuffs. The agricultural industry is subsidized everywhere as it is one of the pillars of state security,” Pavel Borodin noted.
Moreover, several new Union State industrial programmes are expected to be considered as well.
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