MINSK, 21 November (BelTA) - Cooperation with Belarus is high quality, the head of Russia's Udmurt Republic Aleksandr Brechalov said at a meeting with Belarusian head of state Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk on 21 November, BelTA has learned.
The head of the Russian region noted that during his tenure this is the fifth business mission to Belarus: "There are three most effective areas. Belarus is always in the top three regions both in terms of the quality of our contacts and in terms of results. The results may not be as impressive as we would like. But nevertheless, they are there. Both imports and exports have been on the rise.”
Great attention, according to the head of Udmurtia, is paid to agriculture. The region is ready to share its own practices in this regard. "We are definitely interested in this, and not only from the point of view of products, but also from the point of view of the exchange of technologies, experience, practices. Here, I think, we are quite successful," he said.
Aleksandr Brechalov also raised the topic of sport. Knowing the Belarusian head of state as a big sport enthusiast, Aleksandr Brechalov gave him the skis from four-time Olympic champion Galina Kulakova, a native of Udmurtia.
After the meeting with the president, the head of Udmurtia answered journalists' questions. He called Belarus a strategic partner, which is consistently among the top three partners of Udmurtia in terms of mutual trade. "I am glad that we are finding new points of cooperation. Joint ventures are set up both in Belarus and in Udmurtia. Although, probably, Aleksandr Grigoryevich was right by saying that the plans and targets should be more ambitious and that now is the time of opportunities for our economies," Aleksandr Brechalov added.
He noted the complementarity of the economies of Belarus and Udmurtia and a big order intake. "This is not only the military-industrial complex. These are also agricultural and forestry engineering sectors. We have something to learn from Belarus. We, too, have interesting solutions and findings. Therefore, we can say with confidence that in the next two to three years economic growth will be many-fold," the head of Udmurtia said.
Journalists asked Aleksandr Brechalov about the possibility of reviving the IZh motorcycle, a big Soviet big brand, using the capabilities of Belarusian enterprises. He said that the demand for such products will be big, given the departure of many foreign companies from the market. "IZh is a brand. We are open to any form of cooperation and will make every effort to ensure that this project gains traction is there is an interest," he assured.
The trade between Belarus and Russia's Udmurtia amounted to $102.4 million in 2021 and exceeded $185 million in 2020. In January-September 2022 the volume of mutual trade reached almost $70 million, or 94% year-on-year. Belarusian exports made up nearly $30 million. Main exports included trucks, the supplies of which increased by almost $5 million in January-September 2022. Belarus bought steel rods, liquid pumps and cars from Udmurtia.
