MINSK, 9 June (BelTA) - Russia will allocate $1.5 billion for Belarus' participation in import substitution programs, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Governor of Russia's Kursk Oblast Roman Starovoit in Minsk on 9 June, BelTA has learned.
"President Putin and I recently made such a decision. For our part, we offered Russia specific projects that are very needed and will be in demand in the near future not only in Belarus but also in the Russian Federation. Russia will earmark about $1.5 billion for these programs in Belarus. We understand that without replacing imports, especially in critical industries, the so-called critical imports, we will struggle to develop," Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
Vladimir Putin spoke about the prospects for cooperation between Belarus and Russia at the end of May. At the plenary session of the first Eurasian Economic Forum, the Russian leader said that the countries have the opportunities to work in a number of areas and they will definitely use them.
"Belarus has retained certain competencies that are important for Russia, including in microelectronics. President Lukashenko and I have just met in Sochi, talked about this, and even agreed to earmark funds to finance projects in Belarus that will produce goods that will be in demand in Russia itself. This is a very interesting and promising avenue of cooperation,” the Russian president said.
