Vladimir Putin's Remarks at Fifth Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions

Vladimir Putin's remarks at a plenary session of the Fifth Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions in Mogilev on October 12, 2018.

Mr Putin and Mr Lukashenko attend the Fifth Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions.

The plenary session of the Fifth Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions is devoted to the priority areas of the regional cooperation development as a key factor in integration and the building of the Union State.

Attending the event are Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly Valentina Matviyenko, Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich, State Secretary of the Union State Grigory Rapota, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Belarus, Special Presidential Representative for Expanding Trade and Economic Cooperation with Belarus Mikhail Babich, as well as heads of ministries and agencies, executive and legislative bodies of authority, local governments of the Russian and Belarusian regions, and representatives of large businesses, public and scientific organisations.

The forum will bring together some 2,000 participants. The programme will include a crafts fair and the Painting Treasures exhibition, featuring works from the collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Belarusian National Arts Museum.

The Forum of Regions is held to promote direct ties between Russia and Belarus, including through their legislative and executive authorities and business communities. It also drafts recommendations aimed at improving the legal framework for stimulating economic development in the two countries.

The first forum was held in Minsk in 2014, the second, in Sochi in 2015, the third, in Minsk in 2016 and the fourth, in Moscow in 2017.