Published on: 2026-05-20
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexey Overchuk, together with the Head of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus Dmitry Krutoy, held a meeting of the High-Level Group of the Council of Ministers of the Union State of Russia and Belarus.The event took place in Pskov with the participation of the Secretary of the Union State Sergey Glazyev, the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Belarus Boris Gryzlov, the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the Russian Federation Yuri Seliverstov, and the Governor of the Pskov Region Mikhail Vedernikov, as well as representatives of the relevant ministries and departments of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
Before the start of the meeting, Alexey Overchuk and Dmitry Krutoy laid flowers at the Eternal Flame and honored the memory of the fallen defenders of the Motherland with a minute of silence at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Co-chairs of the High-Level Group considered a wide range of issues of trade and economic interaction within the framework of the Union State, paying special attention to the development of a unified transport space, projects in the field of industry, the cultural and humanitarian sphere, as well as the development of the main directions for the implementation of the Union State agreement for 2027–2029.
Opening the meeting, Alexey Overchuk recalled that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the treaty on the formation of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. “Over these 30 years, we have formed a common socio-economic, scientific-educational, cultural-humanitarian, informational, and defense space.””Undoubtedly, we will continue to deepen coordination, strengthen technological sovereignty, and create conditions for a decent life for our citizens,” noted the Deputy Prime Minister, emphasizing that the parties are implementing the tasks set out in the Main Directions for the implementation of the Treaty on the Creation of the Union State for 2024-2026, and are working on agreeing the Main Directions for 2027-2029.
Countries are developing trade and economic cooperation – according to the Belarusian side, in 2025 the mutual turnover of goods and services between Russia and Belarus reached 62 billion dollars, having increased by 6.2%.
The share of settlements in the national currency at the end of the year was 99.1%. Russia remains the key investor in the economy of the Republic of Belarus, with the first place as of the results of 10 months of 2025.
The joint work on the initiative to assign a product status to goods of the Union State, carried out within the framework of the unified industrial policy of the Union, continues. “We support and promote initiatives within the framework of import-substituting projects for the production of products for various purposes in such priority areas as microelectronics, automotive engineering and special machinery, metallurgy, and many others,” noted Alexey Overchuk.
During the negotiations, joint approaches of Russia and Belarus to the development of integration cooperation within the framework of the EAEU, where work is carried out on five cooperative projects implemented using the mechanism of financial support from the Eurasian Economic Union, were also discussed.
The agricultural sector annually applies a mechanism for compiling forecast balances of supply and demand for the main types of agricultural products and foodstuffs, conducts weekly monitoring of mutual deliveries.
For the purpose of organizing and developing cross-border suburban passenger communication of the Union State, on April 2, 2026, on the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Russia and Belarus, direct suburban railway communication was launched between neighboring regions of Russia and Belarus on the routes Smolensk – Orsha and Smolensk – Vitebsk.
A subsidized fare is provided at the expense of the budget of the Union state, which primarily concerns socially vulnerable categories of citizens.
“We plan to continue forming a unified seamless transport space, currently working out the routes: Velikiye Luki – Polotsk and Velikiye Luki – Vitebsk. We are talking about the Bryansk – Gomel route,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
The “roadmap” in the field of youth policy for 2025–2027 is being implemented.
Separate attention was paid by the co-chairmen to a large-scale project dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Nazi German occupants on the territory of the USSR — the concert-requiem “Every Third.” The premiere took place on September 23, 2025, in the Great Hall of the State Kremlin Palace. Concerts in the regions of Russia are planned for 2026–2027.
At the meeting, the implementation of protocol decisions adopted at the Union State platform was also considered. Work continued on the preparation and conduct of meetings of the Council of Ministers of the Union State and the High State Council of the Union State.
According to the results, the Permanent Committee of the Union State has been entrusted with ensuring coordinated work on the implementation of the agreements reached.
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