MINSK, 24 May (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia are set to bring forward three integration projects each in 2017, Belarus' Vice Premier Vladimir Semashko said during the plenary session “Innovation and Investment Development of the Machine-Building Sector of Belarus” on 24 May, BelTA has learned.
“We have agreed that in 2017 Belarus and Russia will offer three joint integration projects each. Certain progress has already been made,” the vice premier remarked. According to him, this agreement is envisaged by the action plan signed with Russia's Vice Premier Arkady Dvorkovich on 13 April in Moscow.
Vladimir Semashko clarified that Belarus-Russia cooperation under these investment projects can take different forms. “The sides can exchange active assets or purchase a certain block of shares,” he noted.
According to the vice premier joint projects can be carried out in mechanical engineering, petrochemistry, oil and gas sector. “As for the natural gas, we are interested in developing a natural gas field and getting access to a pipeline. We have the competencies to do this,” Vladimir Semashko underlined. For instance, the Belarusian industrial group Belorusneft has been operating in Russia for quite a long time. “Belorusneft has set up a company that provides maintenance services using new technologies. This is quite a big company that comprises 2,500 employees. Moreover, it has recently won a tender for a small oilfield and started to develop it. But we need to carry out projects on a larger scale,” Vladimir Semashko pointed out. He recalled that Belorusneft has been working in Venezuela since 2009 producing around 500,000 tonnes of oil.
