Minsk to host next meeting of Union State Cabinet in July

MINSK, 31 May (BelTA) - Belarus offered to host the next meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Union State in July, Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich told BelTA.

The forthcoming meeting of the Union State government was discussed during the bilateral talks between Mikhail Myasnikovich and Dmitry Medvedev in Ashgabat.

“The Belarusian side proposed to hold a meeting of the Union State Council of Ministers in July this year in Minsk. Dmitry Medvedev agreed, and gave orders to work on relevant issues,” said the Belarusian Prime Minister. “Perhaps, this meeting will be timed to coincide with the visit of Dmitry Medvedev to Belarus as Chairman of the Russian Government. Dmitry Medvedev received invitations to visit Belarus from President Alexander Lukashenko and me,” Mikhail Myasnikovich said

Mikhail Myasnikovich and Dmitry Medvedev also discussed the issues regarding the meeting of the heads of government of the Customs Union member states, which will take place in St. Petersburg on 15 June. The summit will focus on industrial cooperation. In the near future the Belarusian Government will consider concrete proposals and projects that Belarus will present in St. Petersburg. “We are talking about coordinated industrial policy, creation of joint transnational corporations, especially in automotive industry, microelectronics," stated the Prime Minister.

The Prime Ministers of Belarus and Russia also considered the issues addressed at the recent G8 Summit. “The parties express their concern about the problems of the euro zone. We will discuss these issues within the framework of the Single Economic Space,” said Mikhail Myasnikovich. “We see the main task in the stabilization of the domestic market, formation of international reserves, diversifying exports and boosting import-substitution,” he noted.

Mikhail Myasnikovich and Dmitry Medvedev exchanged views on the establishment of the joint company Soyuzkali, discussed the efficiency of operation of the transport and logistic systems, including pipelines, and touched upon the topic of privatization in Belarus.

The meeting also discussed issues of economic development in Belarus, the situation on the currency market, the status of implementation of investment projects.