MINSK, 3 February (BelTA) - Russia is not planning to replace imports from Belarus with its products, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said after a meeting with Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko in Minsk on 3 February, BelTA has learned.
"No plans are in the works in Russia to substitute Belarusian-made products. In other words, we are not going to replace the products imported from the Republic of Belarus," Yuri Borisov said when asked about possible import substitution of Belarusian goods.
According to him, the government is not going to spend the Russian budget money "to duplicate the products that the brotherly nation can supply us with."
"Moreover, we are now exploring a wider use of the production capabilities of the Belarusian industry to replace those import positions where we are experiencing certain difficulties," Yury Borisov added.
The deputy prime minister informed about the agreement of the two countries to reset the cooperation in industrial policy at all levels: between enterprises, concerns, government agencies. From the Russian side teh matter is about the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Rosatom, Roscosmos. "We have outlined our interests to the Belarusian partners and invited them to take an active part in new projects, which we are now actively exploring and implementing in Russia," Yuri Borisov explained.
"We suggest considering joint efforts and actions in the field of oil and gas. Since both Russia and Belarus have accumulated competences in the automotive industry we are interested in projects related to vehicles of the future, primarily electric cars," the Russian deputy prime minister added.
