An archive photo
MINSK, 10 June (BelTA) – Belarus and Kazakhstan are now launching more joint ventures and are also exploring possibilities to jointly build dairy farms and housing, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Kazakhstan Pavel Utyupin told the Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA has learned.
The ambassador noted that the agenda of joint meetings has become even more substantive recently. It has to do with the final stage of Belarus’ accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The SCO summit is slated for July and the president of Belarus plans to attend it. Pavel Utyupin expressed hope that our country will be able to join this organization during the summit. Diplomats are also involved in the preparations for the upcoming visits to Minsk by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
“To remain competitive, we need to pursue continuous modernization, develop innovative products, and make the most of our participation in integration associations, such as the Eurasian Economic Union. This will help us successfully compete in foreign markets. We are making good progress here. Just last week we commissioned a new company that will make tractors. Cabins will be manufactured in Kostanay, new production lines to assemble tractors were launched in Kokshetau. Today we run quite a lot of joint production facilities,” said Pavel Utyupin. He went on saying that the two countries jointly produce not only tractors, but also combine harvesters and trucks.
The ambassador emphasized that these projects are meant to increase localization of production. “This is no longer merely assembly, as this involves additional technological operations on the territory of Kazakhstan. These operations use components that are partially supplied from Belarus and partially produced in Kazakhstan,” noted Pavel Utyupin.
There are three factories that assemble Belarusian tractors in Kazakhstan. The production of a 500 hp tractor with standard features will be launched in the next two years. The ultimate goal of such cooperation projects is to increase the localization of equipment production, such as combine harvesters, elevators, agricultural machines and units, as well as fire fighting equipment.
“We see a fairly large market for passenger transport in Kazakhstan, so we suggest making the most of these market opportunities. For example, Kazakhstan could collaborate with Belkommunmash, a Belarusian company that produces trolleybuses, trams, electric buses. This brings us to another potential area of cooperation - charging stations, as Belarus has developed competences in this field. At the session of the intergovernmental commission, Kazakhstan once again expressed interest in creating facilities to manufacture building materials,” the ambassador added.
He also gave his take on cooperation prospects in the construction industry. About 17 million square meters of housing is built in Kazakhstan every year. “This market has great capacity, thus, building materials and furniture are in great demand in Kazakhstan,” Pavel Utyupin remarked.
The diplomat said that another promising area of cooperation is the construction of dairy farms. Belarus can implement such projects on a turnkey basis. Belarusians have extensive expertise and knowledge in the agricultural industry, namely in raising livestock, processing and selling agricultural products. Indeed, Belarus annually sells $8 billion worth of agricultural products. “In my opinion, this is the most striking example proving that our technologies are competitive, that is, we meet the needs of our own market and ship another $8 billion,” the ambassador emphasized.
