The VIII Forum of the Regions of Belarus and Russia took place, which for eight years has been held under the auspices of the upper chambers of the parliaments of the two countries – the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus and then Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia.

The forum ended on July 1. Its main events were organized by videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the topic of the forum was scientific and technical cooperation between Russia and Belarus in the era of digitalization. The relevance of the topic is also due to the special significance of the formation of a single scientific and technological space in the process of integration of Russia in Belarus.

On the first day, the work of five sections was organized in the following somatic areas:
1. Russian Belarusian cooperation in the field of science and education in the era of great challenges in digital technologies;
2. the role of digitalization in the formation of a single scientific and technological space of the Union State;
3. interaction between Russia and Belarus in the implementation of union programs in scientific and technical projects within the framework of international treaties;
4. Rights and digitalization in the Union State: prospects and directions;
5. Online youth: the digital environment of the future.

On June 30, a meeting of the interparliamentary commission of the Council of the Republic and the Federation Council on interregional cooperation took place. An important part of the program of the VIII Forum of Regions was the plenary session, which took place on July 1 via videoconference. Within the framework of the meeting, the heads of state authorities, ministries and departments, business circles of the two countries, as well as experts in the field of digitalization, spoke to the participants. Scientists of the NAS of Belarus took an active part in the work of the Forum.