ALMATY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd February, 2023) Strengthening bilateral integration within the framework of the Union State of Russia and Belarus will be an effective response to Western sanctions, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Mishustin held a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Roman Golovchenko on the sidelines of the Intergovernmental Council session of the Eurasian Economic Union.
"We are convinced that strengthening integration cooperation within the framework of the Union State will be an effective response to illegal sanctions against Russia and Belarus," Mishustin said during the bilateral meeting.
Mishustin also noted the substantive talks held in December 2022 between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and urged both sides to implement the outlined plans.
The Russian prime minister said that the trade and economic cooperation between the two countries has been developing at a good pace. According to the official, in January-November 2022, the volume of bilateral trade increased by 10% and reached almost $39 billion.�
Belarusian exports grew at an accelerated rate, reaching $19.6 billion, and "for the first time in history exceeded imports from Russia," Mishustin added.
