BELGRADE, 23 June (BelTA) – The Belarus-Serbia cooperation roadmap 2017-2018, signed in January 2017, brings results, Belarusian Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Minister Vladimir Koltovich said as he met with Serbian Economy Minister Goran Knezevic in Belgrade on 22 June, BelTA has learned.
“As government bodies, we have done everything to promote trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. We have developed a roadmap, held a business forum, exchanged delegations. We had an agreement under the roadmap to ship an electric bus to Belgrade for tests. It has already been delivered. I know that Belgrade plans to purchase utilities equipment. We are interested in taking part,” noted Vladimir Koltovich.
In his words, a delegation of Serbia's Kraljevo has arrived in Minsk as part of the events envisaged in the roadmap. “About 30 managers of private Serbian companies held meetings with representatives of the Belarusian government bodies, visited Belarusian companies. I had a meeting with the Kraljevo Mayor. Our roadmap works,” Vladimir Koltovich said.
He also informed the Serbian representatives on the current economic situation in Belarus, development prospects, and measures to strengthen competition.
Goran Knezevic stressed traditionally friendly relations between Belarus and Serbia. “Our major task is to strengthen the high level of political contacts with a high level of economic cooperation. We have an ambitious goal, which is to reach €500 million in trade. I hope we will progress every year. According to our data, in Q1 2017 Serbian export growth made up 12%, with imports increasing by 33%. These are good figures and they will be even better, I hope,” he said. The minister expressed hope that the intensification of trade and economic relations between the two countries would promote the work of the corresponding intergovernmental commission which is co-chaired by Goran Knezevic and Vladimir Koltovich, as well as direct business contacts.
The roadmap includes more than 50 events. The countries agreed to hold meetings of the intergovernmental Belarusian-Serbian commission on trade and economic cooperation and business councils on cooperation between the chambers of commerce and industry, promote mutual supplies of food products. Belarus will continue its cooperation with the Serbian government on setting up an international holding company of vehicle components at the basis of Belavtogaz and Petar Drapsin. The efforts will be continued together with the government and the Interior Ministry of Serbia to implement a project on the joint production and supplies of fire-engines for Serbia's needs. Apart from that, Belarus is ready to organize the supplies of Mogilevliftmash products and MAZ-ETON trolleybuses.
