MINSK, 21 February (BelTA) – Belarus is interested in increasing machinery supplies to Kyrgyzstan, Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Rumas said as he met with Kyrgyzstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov on 21 February, BelTA has learned.
“We would like you to consider projects aimed at deepening ties between our companies, as we believe this type of cooperation holds a lot of promise. We can expand existing production facilities or establish new assembly factories. We might as well increase machinery supplies to Kyrgyzstan. Here we can take advantage of the export promotion measures that are in place in Belarus. I believe that the machinery export will greatly benefit from the agreement on special terms for machinery supplies signed by the Government of Belarus and a bank from Kyrgyzstan,” Sergei Rumas said.
The premier believes that the two countries should give a bigger focus to cooperation in agriculture, information technology, transport and logistics.
Belarus is also interested in importing certain products from Kyrgyzstan. “Radiators for MTZ and MAZ vehicles have proved to be very good. We traditionally purchase a lot of cotton and wool and we know that Kyrgyzstan can guarantee a high quality of these products. Trade in this merchandise is not big so far. We need to look into the situation to find out what can be done to boost supplies of these products,” Sergei Rumas said.
The premier reaffirmed Belarus' commitment to closer cooperation with Kyrgyzstan, in particular in trade and economy. “I believe that our efficient bilateral contacts will lay groundwork for similar cooperation within the framework of integration associations, first of all, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Collective Security Treaty Organization,” he added.
Sergei Rumas believes that Belarus and Kyrgyzstan's participation in multilateral integration associations, in particular in the EAEU opens up additional opportunities to build new contacts and scale up cooperation at all levels.
“In recent years trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Kyrgyzstan has become much more vibrant. Our trade has never gone below $100 million for the past three years. However, there is still room for growth. I hope that at the session of the intergovernmental commission today you will be able to thrash out ways to tap into new areas of cooperation. I am confident that these talks will give a start to new projects and the Government of Belarus will provide all kinds of support to them,” Sergei Rumas said.
