Putin: Moscow, Minsk moving towards single industrial policy, common access to government procurement and government orders
<p> MINSK, Sep 9 - PrimePress. Russia and Belarus have agreed to move towards a single industrial policy, common access to government procurement and government orders, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after the talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow on 9 Sep 2021. </p> <p> </p> <p> Putin noted that the parties managed to reach agreements on a common macroeconomic policy, on the integration of payment systems, deepening cooperation in information security, in customs, tax, energy and other areas. </p> <p> </p> <p> “This allowed us to agree on something else - to agree that we are moving to a single industrial policy and access to government procurement and government orders,” Putin said. </p> <p> </p> <p> In his words, the sides had difficulty reconciling the union development programmes. “One side believed that it was enough to make decisions at the governmental level of operative nature and everything would be solved, the other side believed that it was impossible to make decisions on some issues until more fundamental decisions were taken,” he explained. </p> <p> </p> <p> In particular, he said, the Russian experts believed that without solving the issues of transparency in the customs value of goods and determining its structure, it was impossible to move on to certain commodity groups, including energy products. </p> <p> </p> <p> Putin also said that he and Lukashenko had agreed to create a single methodology to harmonize all indirect taxes, and to set up a body to oversee these processes. </p> <p> </p> <p> As previously reported, the governments of Belarus and Russia initialled a Union State integration program in September 2019 and approved 31 roadmaps in various areas. Draft roadmaps were expected to be coordinated by November 2020, and Lukashenko and Putin were supposed to approve the entire package of integration documents on December 8, 2019 during the events timed to the 20th anniversary of the Belarus-Russia Union Treaty of December 8, 1999. The signing of the package did not take place. Belarus said that the parties failed to reach accompanying agreements on Russian energy prices, compensation for Belarus’ losses resulted from the tax manoeuvre in the Russian oil industry, and removal of barriers to Belarusian commodities in the Russian market. Lukashenko said he would not endorse the roadmaps unless the above fundamental issues are finally resolved. </p> <p> </p> <p> In 2021 the roadmaps were renamed “union programmes” and their number was reduced to 28. </p> <p> </p> <p> On 9 September 2021, Putin and Lukashenko agreed on all 28 union programmes. These programmes are planned to be approved at a meeting of the Union State Council of Ministers in Minsk, after which they will be submitted for approval by the Supreme State Council of the Union State, which is scheduled to meet before the end of 2021. End </p>
2021-09-10
Primepress
Putin: Moscow, Minsk moving towards single industrial policy, common access to government procurement and government orders
MINSK, Sep 9 - PrimePress. Russia and Belarus have agreed to move towards a single industrial policy, common access to government procurement and government orders, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after the talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow on 9 Sep 2021.
Putin noted that the parties managed to reach agreements on a common macroeconomic policy, on the integration of payment systems, deepening cooperation in information security, in customs, tax, energy and other areas.
“This allowed us to agree on something else - to agree that we are moving to a single industrial policy and access to government procurement and government orders,” Putin said.
In his words, the sides had difficulty reconciling the union development programmes. “One side believed that it was enough to make decisions at the governmental level of operative nature and everything would be solved, the other side believed that it was impossible to make decisions on some issues until more fundamental decisions were taken,” he explained.
In particular, he said, the Russian experts believed that without solving the issues of transparency in the customs value of goods and determining its structure, it was impossible to move on to certain commodity groups, including energy products.
Putin also said that he and Lukashenko had agreed to create a single methodology to harmonize all indirect taxes, and to set up a body to oversee these processes.
As previously reported, the governments of Belarus and Russia initialled a Union State integration program in September 2019 and approved 31 roadmaps in various areas. Draft roadmaps were expected to be coordinated by November 2020, and Lukashenko and Putin were supposed to approve the entire package of integration documents on December 8, 2019 during the events timed to the 20th anniversary of the Belarus-Russia Union Treaty of December 8, 1999. The signing of the package did not take place. Belarus said that the parties failed to reach accompanying agreements on Russian energy prices, compensation for Belarus’ losses resulted from the tax manoeuvre in the Russian oil industry, and removal of barriers to Belarusian commodities in the Russian market. Lukashenko said he would not endorse the roadmaps unless the above fundamental issues are finally resolved.
In 2021 the roadmaps were renamed “union programmes” and their number was reduced to 28.
On 9 September 2021, Putin and Lukashenko agreed on all 28 union programmes. These programmes are planned to be approved at a meeting of the Union State Council of Ministers in Minsk, after which they will be submitted for approval by the Supreme State Council of the Union State, which is scheduled to meet before the end of 2021. End