17 December, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. The Vitebsk region must reduce the import intensity of its products by 5% annually. This task was set today at a joint meeting of the presidium of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies and the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee by the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Kosinets. "The task has been set to reduce import intensity by 2% annually; we are making it more complex – we will reduce it by 5%, and as a result, by the end of the five-year period, the region will be able to achieve import substitution worth $500-700 million," the governor stated. The Vitebsk region is implementing 19 investment and innovation development programs, and almost all 900 projects within these programs are import-substituting. "Whichever topic you take – import substitution can be implemented in the Vitebsk region: "Vitebskenergo," with the construction of hydroelectric power plants, can contribute to reducing hydrocarbon imports; the Orsha Flax Mill can produce fabrics and sew suits from them, eliminating the need to import similar items from Turkey; high-quality furniture can also be produced in the region." According to Alexander Kosinets, throughout the republic, $80 million is spent annually on purchasing fittings abroad. The Vitebsk Instrument-Making Plant has developed 500 types of fittings, including those for the footwear industry and for furniture enterprises. The Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee demanded that the heads of districts and cities analyze imports and propose what can be reduced for each category – intermediate, consumer, and critical. In his opinion, science should be more actively involved in the implementation of import-substituting projects. -0-

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