The business interests of mobile operators in the two countries have become an obstacle to canceling the roaming charges between Belarus and Russia, State Secretary of the Belarus-Russia Union State Grigory Rapota said as he spoke at the conference to mark the 20th anniversary of the Union State Treaty in Moscow on December 10, BelTA has reported. belarus russia fees

“We have advanced in the general understanding that the roaming charges should be canceled,” said Gregory Rapota. “When this idea was first put forward by MPs, it was perceived negatively rather than positively. They would say that it was difficult, impossible, unnecessary, and so on. Now there is an understanding that it is possible and necessary. The communication ministries have been cooperating quite closely.

Now it all about the interests of telecom operators, which, in general, is quite natural. Of course, business interests must be taken into account. Now they will try to harmonize the interests of businesses with the interests of citizens. We will see whether our ministries will be able to do it. I think we should be optimistic about the prospects,” he said.

Belarus-Russian roaming abolition was just one of the topics at the conference “The Union State: Achievements, Challenges, and Prospects,” which has drawn about 500 participants from Belarus and Russia, representing all branches of government, business, academic, cultural, and mass media. In addition to the plenary session, the conference features six thematic sections on the convergence of legislation, the common economic space, modernization of transport infrastructure, social policy in the Union State, and cooperation in security and counter-terrorism. belarus russia fees

In 2017, a proposal to abolish roaming charges was voiced by the speaker of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, and in August 2018, Russia and Belarus announced their resignation from charging additional tariffs for telephone calls, but no exact date was given.