Deputies of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia proposed involving Pridvinye enterprises in the implementation of joint programs
The Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee hosted a regular meeting of the Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia on Economic Policy. The meeting was preceded by a meeting of the union parliamentarians with the leadership of the Vitebsk region.
Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies Alexander Atyasov and First Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee Vladimir Novatsky acquainted the guests with the socio-economic situation of the Vitebsk region, focusing on the processes of innovative and investment development of the region. Special attention was paid to the priority areas of mutually beneficial cooperation with the subjects of the Russian Federation. It should be noted that the foreign trade turnover of the Vitebsk region with Russia for January-November 2012 amounted to over 5490 million US dollars and increased by 23.8 percent compared to the same period in 2011, including exports – 1252.6 million dollars (growth rate – 117.3 percent),
imports – 4237.9 million dollars (growth rate – 125.9 percent).
At the same time, the share of the neighboring country in the total trade turnover of the Dvina region is 62.7 percent, including 35.2 percent in exports. Economic cooperation is carried out with all federal districts of Russia and 78 regions. The Vitebsk region has concluded 75 regional cooperation agreements with the administrations of the regions of the Russian Federation, as well as with the Government of Moscow on the basis of the Northern Administrative Okrug, of which the Regional Executive Committee has concluded 21, and district (city) executive committees – 54.
It should be noted that the issue of regional cooperation was particularly widely discussed at the meeting. In particular, Viktor Kosourov, Chairman of the Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly for Economic Policy, reported that the deputies are currently working on including an additional item in the budget of the Union State, which provides for expenses on fair and exhibition activities. This will undoubtedly contribute to establishing closer cooperation between enterprises of the two countries and strengthening business ties between individual regions. After all, exhibition and fair activities can significantly increase awareness of potential partners.
The possibility of creating information and analytical centers within the federal districts of Russia, where information on interregional cooperation would be accumulated, is also being considered.
"Why reinvent the wheel when you can use existing experience?" said the chairman of the commission.
In addition, Viktor Kosourov addressed the regional leadership with a specific proposal concerning the participation of enterprises of the Dvina region in the implementation of union programs. This is a very promising area of interaction, and, according to Viktor Semenovich, if it receives proper development, the union budget will provide support.
As for the meeting of the Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia for Economic Policy, its agenda included several issues. Among them are the results of the execution of the Union State budget for 2012 and the first months of 2013. It is gratifying to note that, despite the fact that unused funds remain in the budget annually, its utilization in recent years has been 90-95 percent. For comparison, five years ago, this figure was 60-70 percent.
The parliamentarians also touched upon the topic of the new procedure for forming and executing the Union State budget and the new procedure for developing joint programs. Currently, it sometimes takes up to three years to approve union programs. During this time, many cutting-edge ideas lose their relevance. The new procedure envisages reducing the approval period to 6 months. In addition, it is proposed to add the concept of "joint projects," which often do not require funding, to the existing programs and events in the Union State. This will prevent the union budget, which is essentially groundbreaking, from being overloaded with current expenses.
Elena SYS. Photo by Dmitry OSIPOV. "Vitebsky Rabochy"