Belarus-Russia relations described as strategic, friendly, important

Relations between Belarus and Russia are strategic, friendly and important, Chairwoman of the Labor, Social Policy and Healthcare Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, member of the Federation Council's Committee on International Affairs Yelena Afanasyeva told reporters, BelTA reports.

The commission convened for a meeting in Minsk on 2 February. It was attended by representatives of the Standing Committee of the Union State, the Ministries of Healthcare and Culture of Belarus and Russia, the Minsk Regional Executive Committee, the Belarusian Prosthetic and Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center, Belarusian State Medical University, Orenburg State Medical University and also the Youth Chamber at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia.

The meeting participants considered the possibility of recognizing Belarus' certificates for assistive devices for persons with disabilities in Russia.

"We periodically revisit certain topics that enable us, indeed, to build a common space of the Union State bit by bit. For example, today we considered the issue of certification of medical devices for persons with disabilities. Of course, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus do not have a shortage of these products. But this is an important topic. If we are building a common Union State, we must not only recognize each other's students' diplomas, but we must recognize the certification of certain products. This represents a legislative issue here, which must be solved, among other things, by members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, because we are representatives of the legislative branches of power of our countries," Yelena Afanasyeva noted. “We have discussed this topic with our colleagues from the healthcare ministries today. There are some nuances. Our colleagues insist that certification should take place within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. We believe however that the relations between Belarus and Russia are strategic, friendly, and important since we have been building the Union State. Accordingly, we need to find approaches so that there would be no obstacles to the movement not only of goods and people within the Union State, but also medical products important for people with disabilities.”

MPs got familiar with the information about a new Union State program on prevention and treatment services to children with chronic kidney diseases . “When the commission held in meeting in Orenburg Oblast, our counterparts from the two medical universities came up with an initiative to develop the Union State program to protect the health of children who have chronic kidney diseases. They took a very serious approach to developing the program. We believe that the cost of this program is relatively small and it is well-designed. It has every chance to be implemented within the Union State. Kidney diseases used to be a disease of adults. Today, more and more children have chronic kidney diseases. We, as the Parliamentary Assembly Healthcare Commission, believe that we should support this program and propose it for consideration by our Union State bodies, including the deputy corps,” she added.

During a visit to Minsk and Minsk Oblast on 2-3 February, members of the Parliamentary Assembly plan to visit the Belarusian Prosthetic and Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center, meet with officials of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee and get familiar with a number of social institutions.