On December 8, 1999 Russia and Belarus signed the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State which declared the formation of the Union State as a new stage in the unification of the peoples of two countries into a democratic legal state.

The signing of this Treaty on the creation of the Union State was preceded by the formation in April 1996 of the Community of Russia and Belarus, and in April 1997 of the Union of Belarus and Russia.

The action program for the implementation of the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State defines the main directions and stages of integration:

1. Introduction of a single currency.
2. Integration of energy and transport systems.
3. Creation of a single customs and economic space.
4. Deepening cooperation in the humanitarian field.
5. Deepening cooperation in the areas of foreign policy, defense and security.

In accordance with the Treaty on the Creation of the Union State, its governing bodies including the Supreme State Council (it includes heads of state, government and both houses of parliament) and the Council of Ministers (heads of government, ministers of foreign affairs, economics and finance) were established. The Chairman of the Supreme State Council is the head of one of the Member States on a rotation basis.

The provisions of the program document are being implemented. The main directions for implementing the provisions of the Treaty on the Creation of the Union State.

On January 29, 2024 at the meeting of the Supreme State Council in St. Petersburg the Main Directions for the Implementation of the provisions of the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State for 2024–2026 including the following areas in the field of youth cooperation were approved:

• interaction in the field of youth policy through joint creative projects aimed at identifying and developing gifted youth,
• participation of Russian and Belarusian youth in the Summer/Winter University internship programs annually alternately at higher education institutions in Belarus and Russia,
• interaction in the areas of civic and patriotic education, volunteering, sports, creativity, and professional development of youth,
• increasing the level of recognition of the format of the Union State among young people in Russia and Belarus through expanding cooperation in the information environment, conducting educational and explanatory events.

Particular attention is paid to the participation of young people in the activities of the bodies of the Union State. In 2017, in order to involve youth of Belarus and Russia in the process of building the Union State, introducing them to parliamentary activities, forming a legal and political culture, social and civic activity, the Youth Chamber was created at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia.

On the Russian side, the following are participating in the implementation of youth cooperation through the Union State: the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, the National Youth Council of Russia, the Russian Union of Youth, the Russian Student Teams, the Chamber of Young Legislators under the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the Project Office of International Youth Cooperation in the direction "Russia - Belarus".

Sources: the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the collection "30 years of state youth policy of the Russian Federation" (30 years of state youth policy of the Russian Federation / MIREA – Russian Technological University. – M., 2022. – 340 p.)