Belarus urges closer economic ties in CIS

"The Commonwealth has been recognized by the international community as a reputable integration center playing an important role in the region. Our common goal is to maintain and strengthen this trend in the long-term perspective. Our economic operators, organizations and agencies need to establish and deepen direct contacts to secure efficient interstate cooperation in the CIS," the Vice Premier said. A multitude of cooperation agencies, basic organizations, expert groups, conferences, exhibitions and fairs can and should facilitate the process.

Sergei Rumas emphasized that integration in the CIS is driven by mutual benefits. "Today economic cooperation is impossible without active use of modern innovative technologies. It is encouraging that the CIS member states have developed an extensive international legal framework to promote economic cooperation and boost trade. This framework includes the economic council, the economic court, the commission for economic affairs, sectoral councils," he said. These organizations are designed to help work out a coordinated economic policy for the sustainable economic growth in the participating states.

Sergei Rumas noted that the CIS member states could pool their scientific resources to promote the innovative development. "The CIS is making concrete steps to achieve this goal. The interstate innovative cooperation program until 2020 should become a kind of matrix. We will have to work hard to design and implement the innovative projects stipulated by the program," Sergei Rumas said; Kazinform refers to BelTA.