MINSK, 7 December (BelTA) - Belarus and Russia can resist any external pressure together, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said during a meeting with the head of Russia's Bashkortostan Radiy Khabirov in Minsk on 7 December, BelTA has learned.
"Belarus is facing the unprecedented pressure from the collective West. So is the Russian Federation," Roman Golovchenko said. "I am sure that our opponents will not achieve the goals they pursue. First of all, because this is contrary to the interests of the Belarusian people. Secondly, our ally, the Russian Federation, has our back. There is no doubt that together we will withstand any pressure," the prime minister stressed.
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The prime minister noted that it is not easy to resist external pressure. "Cohesion, integrity and readiness to defend common economic interests are more important today than ever," Roman Golovchenko emphasized. According to him, Belarus and Russia are doing this both at the macro level, as part of the Union State programs to advance economic integration, and also at the micro level, in trade, economic and investment cooperation.
"The development of cooperation with Russian regions is one of the priorities of Belarus' foreign policy. This is the cornerstone of effective trade and economic cooperation and fraternal relations between the countries," the prime minister noted.
Roman Golovchenko added that Bashkortostan is one of the main trading partners of Belarus in the Russian Federation. "The region has great industrial, scientific, technological and agrarian capabilities. Your visit will be fruitful and will help us move forward in our relations, since their potential is far from being exhausted, as evidenced by the figures of mutual trade," he said.
To intensify cooperation, the prime minister proposed to consider such areas of cooperation as the production of special-purpose and cargo vehicles, the agricultural sector and participation in the modernization of the agro-industrial complex of Bashkortostan. "Belarusian agrarians are ready to share the well-established solutions in the construction of dairy complexes and vegetable storage facilities," he added.
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The head of government also proposed to expand cooperation in petrochemistry. "Another area of cooperation is the construction sector. We bring this topic up when meeting with governors of each Russian region. Belarusian builders have gained good experience in the Russian regions," Roman Golovchenko said. In particular, Belarus is ready to discuss projects to build and repair roads and other transport infrastructure facilities.
The bilateral trade with Bashkortostan made up almost $427 million last year. In January-September 2021, it reached $280.5 million. Belarus' export totaled $128 million in 2020 and $111 in January-September 2021. The highest level of bilateral trade was reached in 2018 and made up $734.8 million.
Major Belarusian exports to Bashkortostan are refrigerators, freezers and refrigerating machinery, plastic sheets and films, specific goods, cheese and quark. In January-September 2021, there was a significant increase in the export of wood-fiber boards (up almost 14 times as against the level of the previous year), remote control devices, tables and panels for electrical equipment (up 10 times).
There are assembly facilities for MTZ tractors, Gomselmash and Lidselmash harvesters, Bobruiskagromash equipment, MAZ trolleybuses and SKD kits, 14 enterprises with the participation of the Belarusian capital in Bashkortostan.
