MINSK, 1 June (BelTA) - Nizhny Novgorod residents like Belarusian products very much. There is a high level of trust in Belarusian products, Andrei Dudkin, head of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast's representative office in Belarus, told the media after his meeting with the members of the House of Representatives on 31 May, BelTA has learned.
During the meeting, initiated by the Russian side, the Russian delegation showed the interest of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast in direct purchase of products, goods and services from Belarusian producers and a possibility for direct supplies of products from Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.
“We work with Minsk on a regular basis. We have every day scheduled, a huge number of meetings with industrial and agricultural enterprises. Of course, we do not forget about the cultural and humanitarian relations. The fact that Belarus and Russia are now under certain sanctions adds new impetus to our relations,” Andrei Dudkin said.
According to the expert, the cooperation between Belarus and Russia has never been so close. “The most vivid example is how the Belarusian agricultural vehicles helps amid the sanctions imposed on the supply of agricultural machinery. The agro-industrial complex of our region is actively developing. We have huge needs in agricultural machinery. We have found a full understanding in Belarus. In fact, 62% of our agricultural fleet in Nizhny Novgorod comes from Belarus. So now we simply increase the delivery and improve the quality of service of the Belarusian machinery. We hope to establish joint production of Belarusian equipment in our region,” the head of the representative office said.
According to him, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is interested in the supply of Belarusian food products. “Nizhny Novgorod residents are fond of Belarusian products, show a high level of trust. We are ready to offer Belarusian machine-building enterprises import substitution projects [for component parts]: what we produce in the region, or what our industrial enterprises can produce and replace,” Andrei Dudkin emphasized.
The main purpose of the meeting with the MPs was to shorten the chain of interaction between Russian and Belarusian enterprises as much as possible. MPs know their regions very well, and this is of crucial importance. “When people provide first-hand information, everything happens much faster. We already have such an experience in Grodno and Minsk oblasts when we are guided by MPs to specific areas, enterprises. Relations should not develop only between industry giants. We are interested in small and medium-sized businesses, farms. We have found a lot of partners for our region among small and medium-sized businesses over the previous month. Everything happens very fast: our businessmen fly in, negotiate and reach a contract,” said Andrei Dudkin.
