MOGILEV, 13 May (BelTA) – A cooperation agreement between the government of Belarus and Khabarovsk Territory and an action plan to implement this agreement in 2022-2024 were signed during the working visit of the Russian delegation to Mogilev Oblast, BelTA has learned.
The Mogilev Oblast Executive Committee hosted a meeting of the working group on cooperation between Belarus and Khabarovsk Territory. There were two main issues on the agenda: the state and prospects of cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and Khabarovsk Territory.
Mogilev Oblast Deputy Governor Ruslan Strakhar welcomed progress in bilateral trade in 2021 and January-March 2022. “In 2021, our trade rose 2.1 times over 2020 to reach $18 million despite the difficult epidemiological situation. In January-March 2022, the trade of the Republic of Belarus with Khabarovsk Territory amounted to $6.2 million, up 2.5 times. Belarus' major exports to Khabarovsk Territory are vehicles, machinery and equipment, food,” he stressed.
Khabarovsk Territory Governor Mikhail Degtyaryov said following the meeting that the Russian region will invite Belarus to take part in a number of local projects. One of them is the construction of a dairy farm using Belarus' expertise and knowledge in Khabarovsk Territory.
“We talked about the supply of equipment and engineering products during the meeting - we have a large demand for such products. Our public transport and business use a lot of Belarusian products. The construction of a dairy farm is another landmark project. We plan to involve Belarusian construction specialists and agricultural technologists in this project. We have investors, a site and a plan. We are now substituting imports not even in the technological chains, but in the minds of our entrepreneurs. Many projects relied on Western, European, American and Canadian technologies. This is wrong, and history tells us today that we need to team up. We encourage our entrepreneurs to make bigger use of the Belarusian expertise and knowledge. For our part, we will help with financing and land plots. We have a big demand for milk and meat products, so we will be implementing this project in the near future,” he said.
Products of Mogilev enterprises and organizations aroused interest in the Russian delegation. According to the Khabarovsk Territory governor, special attention is paid to meat and dairy products. "We visited the meat packing plant in Mogilev, examined the product lines of dairy factories. Many of them sell in Khabarovsk but often we have no contracts for direct deliveries. This is why we brought entrepreneurs who control 80% of the retail market of our region to establish direct ties," he stressed.
Another important point of cooperation between Belarus and Khabarovsk Territory is the setting up of joint ventures. "Yesterday, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said that the time was right for joint ventures. The same task was set by our president, Vladimir Putin. These will be new enterprises and manufactures. First of all, a transport and logistics complex. A project to assemble and maintain Belarusian-made vehicles is next in line. We are ready to provide free sites in the advanced development territory, that provides tax exemption for five years, to set up plants to assemble trucks, passenger trolleybuses and buses, agricultural and forestry vehicles. We have labor resources, gas and electricity, land. Belarus needs to be closer to the Far Eastern markets. The instruction of the Belarusian president directly concerns Khabarovsk Territory," Mikhail Degtyarev said.
For his part, Mogilev Oblast Governor Anatoly Isachenko said that the current situation and the sanctions against Russia and Belarus gave impetus to the establishment of stronger ties.
“A number of issues were discussed during the joint meeting. The parties signed an agreement on further cooperation and a protocol to it. They outline specific plans for certain industries. These include agriculture (the construction of a dairy farm in Khabarovsk Territory), manufacturing industry (supplies of MAZ, BelAZ, tractors) and many other areas. Today's working meeting will give impetus to further cooperation. We agreed with the governor of Khabarovsk Territory to hold regular video conferences to keep pulse on the work to implement our agreements,” Anatoly Isachenko said. “The sanctions pressure against our countries makes us look for ways to move forward. Trade is picking up and looks to increase significantly. Enterprising people, industries and business need to sign contracts. As the Belarusian president noted yesterday we need to set up joint ventures, to advance cooperation and integration.”
