Dmitry Chernyshenko addresses the XII Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus
Dmitry Chernyshenko attends the plenary meeting of the XII Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus
Dmitry Chernyshenko attends the XII Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus
The plenary meeting of the XII Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus
Dmitry Chernyshenko addresses the XII Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenko delivered remarks at the XII Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus on the topic “The Youth of Belarus and Russia are Heirs to the Great Victory and the Future of the Union State.”
President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko sent greetings to participants in the Forum. President Vladimir Putin thanked the participants for their tangible contribution to strengthening the Russian-Belarusian strategic partnership, the Union State, and the neighbourly relations between both countries’ citizens.
The plenary meeting was also addressed by Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko and Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Natalya Kochanova. Dmitry Chernyshenko thanked them for their great contribution to shaping unified approaches to the youth agenda of both countries.
He also stressed the importance of joint efforts by Russia and Belarus in preserving the historical memory and promoting patriotic indoctrination of young people.
“Our leaders – Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko – always emphasise the importance of developing humanitarian ties between our fraternal peoples. This year, we are celebrating the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Therefore, our joint efforts to fight the glorification of Nazism and falsification of history and to educate our youth in the patriotic spirit are of special significance,” the Deputy Prime Minister stressed.
This year, the Agreement between Russia and Belarus on Cooperation in the Area of Youth Policy will be 30 years old. To mark this anniversary, Russia and Belarus held large-scale events, including Victory Parades, Immortal Regiment processions, Belarus Remembers, and Train of Memory.
“For next year, we are contemplating two important tasks that our heads of state have instructed us to tackle. I am referring to the need to draw up a youth policy strategy of the Union State and to upgrade the Agreement on Cooperation in the Area of Youth Policy. This will further strengthen our fraternal ties, make it possible to raise cooperation to a qualitatively new level, and provide additional opportunities for self-fulfillment of youth in Russia and Belarus,” Dmitry Chernyshenko said.
Last December, a roadmap of joint events for years to come was approved in Moscow. It includes more than 60 different initiatives. The first signature event was the congress of Union State student teams in Perm, the youth capital of Russia.
We are implementing a number of joint projects within the framework of international youth cooperation to acquaint young people with other states. For example, we are implementing the New Generation programme of familiarisation tours to Russia. In 2024, these trips involved 570 delegates from CIS countries, including 96 Republic of Belarus citizens.
We also continue to preserve and expand the heritage of the World Festival of Youth. In 2024, Russia hosted this festival, with the support of President Vladimir Putin. International friendship clubs became a flagship project of the World Festival of Youth, and 90 of them have already opened in all 89 territories of the Russian Federation. The clubs help young people maintain post-festival contacts.
A World Festival of Youth convention in Nizhny Novgorod will become the main 2025 event in the sphere of international youth cooperation. The convention will bring together 2,000 participants from 130 countries, including the Republic of Belarus.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the efficiency of efforts depended on the quality of fulfilling specific programmes and projects. It is necessary to constantly analyse the results of various events, to expose shortcomings and to draft recommendations for improving available collaboration mechanisms. This is the only way to guarantee the achievement of goals, set by the presidents, and to ensure the future development of youth cooperation within the framework of the Union State.
During the 12th Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions, Dmitry Chernyshenko and Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor Gleg Nikitin took part in a meeting with the heads of government bodies of Russian and Belarusian regions. Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matviyenko, and Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, Natalia Kochanova, co-chaired the meeting. The officials also visited the forum’s exhibition together with members of the delegation. Exhibits include surgical, neuro-surgical and traumatology implants, an industrial robot, lasers and lots more.
While touring the exhibition, Dmitry Chernyshenko and Gleb Nikitin also inspected a MININ three-section tram and the MININ electric bus; this name is standard for all trams and buses in this category. They are manufactured by the Russian-Belarusian joint venture Nizhekotrans in the city of Versma in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. In the past few years, the facility has assembled over 90 MININ trams and over 60 MININ electric buses. These trams and buses are already operating in Nizhny Novgorod; several trams have been delivered to Krasnodar. It is intended to ship the trams and buses to other regions and to manufacture other types of public transit systems.
On 26–27 June, Nizhny Novgorod is hosting the 12th Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions, ‘Belarusian and Russian Youth, the Heirs of the Great Victory, and the Future of the Union State.’ A substantial package of agreements between the two countries is to be signed at the forum.
