Russian and Belarusian lawmakers discuss the contribution of public organisations and associations to fostering integration.
A session on the Public Diplomacy of the Union State: The Contribution of Russian and Belarusian Public Organisations and Associations to Fostering Integration, took place as part of the 10th Forum of Russian and Belarusian Regions held in Ufa.
Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin and Sergei Rachkov, Chair of the Permanent Commission on International Affairs and National Security at the Council of the Republic, moderated the session.
The meeting was attended by Russian Federation senators, members of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, members of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, deputies of the State Assembly, or Kurultai, of the Republic of Bashkortostan, representatives of federal executive bodies of the Russian Federation and government bodies of the Republic of Belarus, and representatives from public organisations and the expert community.
An important part of the session was to discuss the successful practices of public organisations’ activity in Russia and Belarus to promote integration.
As Grigory Karasin noted, the subject of the discussion was of particular interest in the context of the aggressive policy of the West. According to the legislator, the role of public diplomacy takes on more importance when information about Russia and Belarus abroad is being deliberately distorted; its mission should be to achieve “dominance” in the global information landscape to foster a positive image of the Union State among the international public.
“Our union building activity includes a wide range of public initiatives aimed at increasing the appeal of the bilateral integration process. Belarusian and Russian public associations that work towards strengthening Russian-Belarusian cooperation and promoting the integration agenda should enjoy equal and favourable operating conditions across the territory of the Union State,” Grigory Karasin said.
According to Sergey Rachkov, in today’s reality of global development, public organisations and associations are emerging not only as important subjects of civil society in a state, but also as actors in international relations.
To strengthen the Union State, we need to use a range of effective and multi-level pro-integration mechanisms, with public associations focused on fostering a positive integration agenda being a prominent tool in this, Sergey Rachkov believes.
Lyubov Glebova, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, delivered a report on The Public and State Aspects of Drafting and Implementing State Policy as an Indispensable Condition for its Efficacy.
The Russian Foreign Ministry’s special representative for issues of the Russia-Belarus Union State Viktor Sorokin spoke about the international aspects of the activities of public organisations and associations in the Union State.
Other speakers stressed the need to vigorously expand the information support for union building, to talk about the mutual advantages of the integration processes.
They noted that Russian and Belarusian public organisations becoming key partners in promoting integration ideas in society, their involvement in the implementation of respective initiatives will strengthen support for the construction of the Union State.
Direct horizontal ties between representatives of civil society in Russia and Belarus are needed, because contacts in school-to-school, organisation-to-organisation, or business-to-business formats can fill the sister-city movement with meaningful content and pave the way for joint long-term projects.
The two countries have the potential for system-wide information support for Union State development. The need for practical implementation of agreements reached at the highest level on the creation of a union media holding was emphasised.
The participants adopted a number of recommendations addressed to the concerned federal executive bodies of the Russian Federation and government bodies of the Republic of Belarus in cooperation with integration agencies, inter-parliamentary organisations, and Russian and Belarusian public organisations and associations.
A cooperation agreement was signed between the Women's Union of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Belarusian Women's Union public association.
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The theme of this year’s forum in Ufa is The 10th Anniversary of the Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus: Results and Prospects. The organisers are the Federation Council, the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
The programme of events includes a plenary meeting, sessions involving senators of the Russian Federation and their Belarusian colleagues, representatives of executive and legislative authorities of Russian and Belarusian regions, relevant ministries and departments, municipal authorities of the two countries, as well as business, academia and culture.
As many as 57 regions of Russia and all regions of Belarus are represented at the forum; more than 100 cooperation documents are expected to be signed.