MOGILEV, 13 May (BelTA) - Russia and Belarus will counter the sanctions by joint efforts and will implement joint projects, Governor of Russia's Khabarovsk Territory Mikhail Degtyarev said as he visited Mogilev Oblast of Belarus on 13 May, BelTA has learned.
"Cooperation between Khabarovsk Territory and Belarus has a long history. We have been buying agricultural products," said Mikhail Degtyarev. “Today we visited the processing enterprises, in particular the Mogilev meat packing plant. I was pleasantly surprised by a wide choice of goods. With us came entrepreneurs, the owners and managers of all major retail chains which hold 80% of the market. All of them are set up to conclude direct contracts, without intermediaries. I am sure that in the next three to four months this will lead to a significant increase in trade between Khabarovsk Territory and Belarus.”
According to Mikhail Degtyarev, Khabarovsk Territory is focused on ramping up its meat and dairy sector: "During the meeting with President Aleksandr Lukashenko, we discussed setting up joint ventures. We will definitely have a look at the dairy farm project designed by Belarusian engineers and we will build the same one in our region. The region badly needs to develop its own dairy and beef cattle breeding. We aim for 90% self-sufficiency in terms of milk. Today it is only 8.5%. There is a large room for growth. There are partners who will help us grow. This will definitely be partners from Belarus. We see that the West has been churning out sanctions against both Russia and Belarus. This means that we will work together to counter the sanctions and will launch joint projects. We have money, Belarusians have experience and modern technologies. We will help each other.”
The Khabarovsk Territory delegation includes business representatives, who, in the wake of the sanctions policy of the West, began to rebuild their logistics and commodity chains. Being a Union State member, Belarus is a country to look for first. Thus, Khabarovsk Territory intends to purchase BelAZ and MAZ vehicles, buses, road machinery, production lines for dairy farming from Belarus. There is an interest in building up cooperation in agriculture and an intention to implement a joint dairy farm project. The Russian region is also experiencing a shortage of specialists in the construction industry, as it has launched a great number of large infrastructure facilities.
"The United States is shooting itself in the foot by losing a huge market of Russia. So our business is looking towards Belarus," Mikhail Degtyarev emphasized. “Our delegation includes representatives of the construction, road building, forestry and timber sectors, those who are engaged in the production of coal, gold, copper, tin. All of them will sign agreements and contract for the coming years."
The Economy Committee of the Mogilev Oblast Executive Committee informed that in January-March 2022, the trade between Mogilev Oblast and Khabarovsk Territory totaled $126,600, up by 25 times year-on-year. Trade was mainly made up of exports of tires, fluid pumps, bread and confectionery.