Trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and the Vladimir Region of Russia is growing, and the pace of this growth must be maintained at all costs. This was stated by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, at a meeting with the Governor of the Vladimir Region of Russia, Alexander Avdeev, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
The Head of State welcomed the head of the Russian region to the hero city of Minsk and, before starting the conversation, congratulated everyone on the bright and holy holiday – Victory Day, the next anniversary of which was celebrated last week. "This is a great achievement of our people. Another anniversary of this Great Victory – I think we have earned it and will sacredly cherish it," the President emphasized.
"I am convinced that your first visit to our country as the head of a Russian region will allow you to quickly identify needs on the ground, find the right suppliers, and perhaps conclude new contracts," Alexander Lukashenko addressed Alexander Avdeev. "Our government is focused on providing you with maximum assistance. In short, whatever we are capable of, if it suits you, we are ready to work with you in this direction."
The President recalled that during high-level contacts with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, there is constant discussion about the need to deepen integration, industrial cooperation, and, most importantly, import substitution. "You know, we are doing quite well. Even better than we expected," said the Belarusian leader. "I believe that the heads of regions and enterprises should be primarily interested in this, because you are on the ground, there, with the people."
Everything that needed to be adopted and signed by the heads of state and governments has been done, stated Alexander Lukashenko. "A wide road has been opened to implement the ideas we envisioned in the sphere of bilateral cooperation," he noted.
According to the President, in 2022, mutual trade reached its highest level since 2017, amounting to almost half a billion dollars, and increased by almost 20% compared to 2021. The first three months of this year also show positive dynamics: compared to the same period in 2022, trade turnover increased by almost a third. "We must maintain these rates at all costs," the head of state set the task. At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that there are often situations when trade growth is followed by declines. And there should be no such sharp fluctuations, the President is convinced.
"We are currently supplying you and intend to continue offering products of mechanical engineering, machine tool construction, woodworking, chemical and light industries, and the agro-industrial complex," said the head of state. According to him, the Vladimir region can also count on cooperation with Belarus in a number of areas, including the supply of breeding cattle and land reclamation machinery. In turn, our country is well aware of and uses products of the chemical industry, mechanical engineering and machine tool construction, and food products from the Russian region.
"Domestic passenger, freight, agricultural, utility, road construction machinery, and elevator equipment meet the level of world standards. Their quality and reliability have been proven by many years of operation. The model range and assortment are constantly updated. Therefore, they are at your service. We will show you everything that interests you. I hope that during your stay in Belarus, you and your colleagues will determine exactly what equipment the Vladimir region needs today, and we will deliver this equipment to you as soon as possible," the head of state noted.
Alexander Lukashenko also drew attention to the similarity between Belarus and the Vladimir region, which is a reliable foundation for the development of bilateral interaction: "This is our native region, it is like Belarus. We know that you are not super-rich (just like us), everything is achieved through hard work, and the people are the same. Therefore, we have a good base, a foundation for our cooperation. We are always ready for this."
Trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and the Vladimir region of Russia is characterised by positive dynamics. In 2022, the trade turnover amounted to almost $414 million. This is 20% more than in 2021 and the highest volume since 2017. In January-March of this year, the trend of growth in mutual trade continues: $93.4 million, which is 32% higher than the level for the same period in 2022.
Belarusian exports to the Vladimir region last year amounted to $130 million, an increase of more than 46% over the year. They are based on liquid crystal devices, lasers, rolling stock parts, resins and polyurethanes, fibreglass and products made from it, and non-woven materials. Copper wire, rolling stock parts, chocolate and cocoa-based food products, specific goods, and sugar confectionery are imported into Belarus from this Russian region.
Source: belta.by