Results of the 6 Russian-Belarusian Forum of Regions
Relationship Development Vector
The 6 Forum of the Regions of Belarus and Russia took place in St. Petersburg. This year, the main theme of the event was designated as “Interregional relations as the basis for the formation of a single cultural and humanitarian space of the peoples of Belarus and Russia”.
Today, the annual forum has become one of the key reasons used by the Russian and Belarusian side to approve decisions determining the future vector of development. Other such “control segments”, to which, as a rule, top management meetings and the adoption of initiatives important for Russian-Belarusian integration, are also the beginning of April (April 2 is the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Russia and Belarus) and December (December 8 is Signing Day) Treaty establishing the Union State).
Last year the forum was held in Mogilev, before that the event was hosted by Moscow, Sochi and twice the capital of the Republic of Belarus. By tradition, the plenary meeting of the event was attended by the presidents of Russia and Belarus.
During the two-day visit, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko discussed with Vladimir Putin further steps in the development of the Union State: on July 18, the leaders of the two countries held talks in the Tauride Palace, and the day before the presidents visited the Valaam Monastery.
Among the issues discussed by the forum participants and the leaders of the two countries were the formation of a single information space, industrial cooperation, mutual recognition of visas. According to the declared key topic of the forum, the priority for discussions was the development of the social and humanitarian sphere: unification of the rules for admission to higher educational institutions, elaboration of a mechanism for joint preparation of Russian and Belarusian athletes for the Olympics, and a number of other issues.
Locomotives integration
It should be noted that humanitarian cooperation is becoming one of the key areas of cooperation, which was announced by the Russian and Belarusian presidents even during the meeting in Sochi (February 15 – 17). This trend has its own explanation. The preservation of controversial issues in economics and politics in Minsk and Moscow leads to the fact that social and humanitarian cooperation is considered as the most promising area for the further integration of the two states.
In addition to the intentions to use social and humanitarian interaction as a “locomotive” of integration, the past forum also aroused interest in other details.
As some experts wrote, the leaders of the two countries held an informal meeting at the Valaam Monastery with their own logic. Against the background of the church schism in Ukraine, the arrival of Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko to Valaam was a demonstration that Russia and Belarus continue to act as guardians of Orthodoxy and opponents of projects aimed at weakening culturalhistorical ties of Slavic peoples.
Also for the first time in six years, the Forum of Regions was held in St. Petersburg. Some representatives of the Russian and Belarusian leadership have repeatedly stated that the city on the Neva has great potential to become the administrative center of the Union State. Earlier, commenting on the possibility of introducing a single currency, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, stated that if this initiative is implemented, the issuing center should be made in St. Petersburg. “The birthplace of the President of Russia, my favorite city is Leningrad, St. Petersburg now. Let it be there, ”the Belarusian leader said.
- V. Sergeev
- kremlin.ru
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