On January 20, Gatovo / Olga Belyavskaya - BELTA /. SOOO "Belvest" is negotiating cooperation with leading Italian footwear manufacturers, Gennady Vyrko, Chairman of the "Bellesprom" concern, told reporters today, answering a question from a BELTA correspondent. "Contacts with leading Italian manufacturers are being worked out, and we expect a visit from one of their managers to our country in the near future; a high-level meeting is being considered," the head of the concern said. The Belarusian company counts on comprehensive partnership with foreign colleagues. "This cannot be characterized as just joint production; it also includes entry into their sales networks, access to their design, developments, and so on. Of course, we are primarily interested in the luxury range," Gennady Vyrko explained. According to the Chairman of "Bellesprom", Belarus has sufficient production capacities to increase footwear output by 2.5-3 times. "We have no problems with footwear sales," he stated. The market of the Single Economic Space opens up great prospects for increasing the export of these products. "Here, together with Russian manufacturers, we are present, supplying approximately 50 million pairs of shoes with a demand of 500-600 million pairs," he emphasized. "We have room to grow." Answering a question about the conditions for implementing projects to create two new footwear holdings in Belarus, Gennady Vyrko noted that this issue has just begun to be worked out, and a relevant concept is being prepared. As previously reported, the holdings are planned to be formed on the basis of leading Belarusian footwear manufacturers - "Marko" and "Belvest". Thus, "Marko" plans to create such a structure based on its own capacities, as well as involving the Lida Footwear Factory, the Smilovichi Felt Factory, and "Vitebsktextiltorg" in the project. -0-

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