Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk took part in a meeting of the High-Level Group of the Council of Ministers of the Union State of Russia and Belarus.
The meeting, held via videoconference, focused on the topical issues of Russian-Belarusian trade and economic cooperation, including digital technology, banking and construction.
The participants specifically discussed the transition from testing communications channels to abolishing international roaming on the territory of the Union State. They issued instructions to the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media and the Belarusian Ministry of Communications and Informatisation, and Russian and Belarusian telecommunications companies to complete testing and, starting 1 September 2021, begin full cooperation on discount rates for international interconnection on data roaming, roaming rates shared by operators and convenient roaming plans across the Union State, according to the agreements earlier reached between the telecommunications companies.
The Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media and the Belarusian Ministry of Communications and Informatisation were also instructed to continue monitoring the practice of discount rates for international interconnection on data roaming, roaming rates shared by operators and convenient roaming plans, as well as to continue developing a legislative act that would cancel inbound call fees when roaming on the territory of the Union State.
In order to create equal conditions for Russian and Belarusian automotive and specialised equipment manufacturers, the possibility of creating a unified system to determine the share of domestic content for automotive and specialised equipment manufactured in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus is being worked out.
Under the Joint Action Plan for ensuring mutually beneficial cooperation in certain sectors of industry, the parties discussed the possibilities of expanding cooperation on microelectronics and the conditions for using the electronics component base in Belarus in the Russian Federation. The possibility of signing a cooperation agreement on developing microelectronic technology, an electronics component base, and technological equipment for production is being considered.
The parties also addressed the issues of using national payment instruments in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. The officials noted the successful implementation of the project of intersystem interaction between the Mir and Belkart payment systems, aimed at mutual servicing of cards in the infrastructures of Russia and Belarus. An agreement was reached on the prompt completion of the mutual disclosure of the payment infrastructures, given that today the Mir payment system cards are accepted by 90 percent of ATMs in the Republic of Belarus, and Russian infrastructure is fully ready to accept cards from the Belkart payment system issued using technologies of the Mir system.
Work continued on recognising an electronic digital signature in an electronic document and ensuring the legal force of electronic documents in cross-border information interaction within the Union State. A technological and organisational infrastructure has been formed, as well as all the prerequisites for developing regulatory support for solving the problem of recognising an electronic digital signature in an electronic document and ensuring the legal recognition of electronic documents in the cross-border information interaction of businesses.
Following this, the Standing Committee of the Union State was instructed to develop draft protocol solutions and ensure coordinated work on the implementation of the agreements reached.
