Belarus' PM calls for development of North-South, East-West transport corridors

MINSK, 8 June (BelTA) – We need to develop North-South and East-West transport corridors, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said at a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Sochi on 8 June, BelTA has learned.

Roman Golovchenko touched upon the optimization of transport and logistics infrastructure. “I think there is no need for additional campaigns in this circle in favor of developing the North-South corridor, especially taking into account the negotiations on a free trade zone with Iran and the UAE. We believe that the signing of the Russia-Iran agreement on cooperation in financing the design, construction and supply of goods and services for the development of the Rasht-Astara railway is an extremely important event for the transport industry not only in Russia but also in the entire EAEU. It is also necessary to work just as hard on the development of the East-West corridor and promote transport and logistics in the dialogue with the SCO and BRICS,” Roman Golovchenko said.

“We are counting on even more active work of the EEC and EAEU member states to ensure the functioning of unified markets for goods, services, capital and workforce. We still do not use the significant potential of the government procurement market to the full. Its volume is $180 billion, and the share of purchases from the third countries within the EAEU is up to 80%. There is something to work on, including in terms of urgent tasks of import substitution and support for domestic business. I think we should instruct the EEC to look again at what causes such a high degree of imports in public procurement,” the prime minister said.

According to the Belarusian head of government, it is also necessary to continue working on the international positioning of the EAEU, the exchange of experiences and best practices between the EEC, the CIS Executive Committee and the Union State Standing Committee.

Roman Golovchenko also drew attention to the climate agenda. “It is an important factor of economic development. We need to gradually create a structure of the regional economy, which will be dominated by low emissions production and technology,” he said.