MINSK, 25 February (BelTA) – Belarus and Udmurtia would like to scale up cooperation in construction and agricultural sector, Belarusian Deputy Premier Vladimir Kukharev said as he met with First Deputy Chairman of the Government of Russia's Udmurt Republic Aleksandr Svinin on 25 February, BelTA has learned.
“Direct contacts with Russian regions are the backbone of bilateral trade and economic cooperation and Belarus' relations with the neighboring country. Unfortunately, the trade between Belarus and Udmurtia is experiencing a setback now. In 2019 the trade shrank by 34.5% year-on-year. This said, Belarus' import from Udmurtia exceeds its export to this region six times. Being an exporting country we are determined to set a foothold on your market. After all, there are many things we can offer,” Vladimir Kukharev said.
The Belarusian vice-premier named four avenues of cooperation it wants to give a bigger focus to. The first one is mechanical engineering. “Belarus manufactures up-to-date machinery boasting great performance. These machinery brands include MAZ, Amkodor and MTZ. I suggest implementing joint projects in passenger transport manufacturing. Your country has plans to purchase new trolleybuses, trams and buses. Belarus is ready to take part in procurement programs for passenger vehicles, including vehicles with gas engines, low-floor buses for barrier-free access, school buses and electric vehicles. With your support, Belkommunmash could set up a factory to assemble electric buses in Udmurtia,” he noted. Here he suggested using mutually acceptable financial instruments, such as leasing schemes and budget subsidies.
The second avenue of cooperation is construction. “This sector is one of the mainstays of the domestic economy. We have a wealth of experience in design engineering and construction of social facilities, roads and agro-towns. We offer services in research, design and engineering, and also construction of energy-efficient residential buildings. Mogilevliftmash is ready to take part in the program to renovate the housing stock of your cities. In addition to a wide range of elevators, the company can supply escalators and automatic parking systems,” Vladimir Kukharev said.
Agriculture is promising too. The Institute of Flax of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus can cooperate with enterprises of the Russian region. Belarus is also ready to supply special equipment for flax farming. “Our country has developed an array of technologies in potato farming and proposes to set up joint seed breeding centers. We are aware of the successes of your region's agricultural industry. Taking into account the high-quality food products that are produced in Belarus and are in demand in many markets, including far abroad, we are ready to increase the export of Belarusian foodstuffs to the region, primarily that of meat, dairy products, cheeses and sausages,” the deputy prime minister noted.
Housing and utilities is the fourth area of cooperation. “As part of the Environment national project your region is actively promoting the municipal waste management reform. We welcome the signing of the protocol of intentions with the Belarusian company Sohra Dynamic to build a waste processing plant in Udmurtia. We are ready to expand cooperation in this area with the participation of the scientific center Tsentr, which is part of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. I would like to draw your attention to our diverse range of utility vehicles of European quality: forklifts, sweepers, garbage trucks, containers and many more,” Vladimir Kukharev stressed.
He added that cooperation in health, education and tourism holds promise too. The deputy prime minister suggested stepping up cooperation in medical spa treatment as Belarus has well-developed infrastructure of multidisciplinary health centers.
For his part, Aleksandr Svinin noted: “In 2019, Udmurtia adopted an export strategy which identified ten most promising markets, where, on the one hand, our companies would be interested to have a potential market, and on the other, where they are ready to cooperate, purchase and import goods and services. Belarus is first in this list.”
