Lukashenko: Belarus, Russia's Voronezh Oblast should try to achieve $1bn in trade

The mutual trade between Belarus and the Voronezh region should strive to reach the coveted $1 billion mark. This was stated by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on June 10 at a meeting with the Governor of the Voronezh region of Russia, Alexander Gusev, reports BELTA correspondent.

The head of state warmly welcomed the head of the Russian region, noting that two years had passed since their last meeting. "We then outlined a number of important areas of our cooperation in Minsk, and agreed to interact more actively in industry, agriculture, and the humanitarian sphere," said the Belarusian leader. "largely thanks to your efforts, the Voronezh region has become one of Belarus's most important partners."

In 2023, the trade turnover exceeded $500 million. "A good figure, we need to strive for the coveted billion, as we agreed," the President oriented. "Moreover, good dynamics are maintained this year. The region (Voronezh region. - BELTA note) has reached 13th place in Russia in terms of export volumes from our country."

Alexander Lukashenko identified key areas where the parties are already successfully cooperating and there is potential for further expansion of cooperation.

Construction

This sphere traditionally leads in the trade relations between Belarus and the Voronezh region. The total cost of projects implemented within the framework of cooperation has increased 10 times over the last three years - to almost 8.5 billion Russian rubles.

Joint projects include, for example, industrial construction, in particular, a tire recycling plant, as well as social facilities. "The reconstruction of the main sports arena (Voronezh. - BELTA note) - the Central Trade Union Stadium by Belarusian builders, I am sure, will ensure its entry into the category of the best in the Russian Federation," added the head of state.

Industry

The President proposed to supplement trade in a wide range of industrial products with cooperation projects.

As for the equipment produced in our country, the Voronezh region is well acquainted with it, using almost the entire range to a greater or lesser extent. MAZ regularly participates in tenders for the purchase of bus equipment, and MTZ, Gomselmash, Amkodor participate in tenders for the supply of agricultural, road, and logging equipment.

"But today, the growing demand for equipment in Russia requires preliminary work between manufacturers and consumers. We are focusing on high-quality and timely service support, personnel training, and the supply of spare parts and consumables. Without this, it is impossible to supply any equipment to the markets at all," the Head of State emphasized.

Agriculture and Food

"These are your brands both in terms of contribution to the overall volume of agricultural products in Russia and in terms of ensuring the region and the Central Federal District," the President said. "But there are always free niches and room for a wide range of products that consumers need so much." According to statistics, in 2023, the Voronezh region ranked 10th among the regions of the Russian Federation in terms of purchases of food products and agricultural raw materials from Belarus. "We will be glad to help you enter the top five in terms of consumption and processing of our products," Alexander Lukashenko noted.

According to the President, Belarusian enterprises and scientific organizations are also ready to share their experience in using new technologies in agriculture. They are already actively cooperating in the field of seed production. Belarus also offers technologies in the field of dairy production, including the design and construction of complexes and their equipment.

Public Utilities

This sphere is closely related to housing construction and maintaining the housing stock in technically sound condition, as well as providing quality services to the population. "You know that in Belarus, you can borrow not only solutions for organizing work in this sphere. We also produce equipment and machinery for waste collection, sorting and processing, water treatment, and sewage disposal," noted Alexander Lukashenko and proposed to discuss these and other areas of cooperation of interest to the Voronezh region delegation during the meeting.

The President emphasized that all reached agreements will be guaranteed to be fulfilled by the Belarusian side.

"For example, you could work more actively with our government in high-tech industries (electronics, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, information and communication technologies, energy saving, and many other spheres), as well as support industrial cooperation using domestic developments and component base," proposed the head of state.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that there are no closed topics for negotiations and agreements, and Belarus is ready to make decisions on issues that are of interest to the Voronezh region. "If we say we will do it, we will do it," assured the Belarusian leader.

"I think the time has come for us to cooperate more closely. Finally, due to circumstances, we have understood who is who, who are true friends, and who have simply attached themselves to Russia and our cooperation for many years," summarized the President.

For his part, Alexander Gusev also assured the unconditional fulfillment of all agreements and work plans with Belarus. As one of the areas where the parties have achieved the greatest success in joint cooperation, the governor named construction. With the participation of Belarusian specialists, many facilities have been built in the region, including social infrastructure. One of them is a large educational center in Voronezh for almost 3,000 students. "We see that you are doing everything qualitatively and promptly. Of course, this is a big format of interaction for us," said the head of the region. According to him, there is a great interest in attracting Belarusian specialists to the design and construction of the Central Stadium of Trade Unions in Voronezh.

The governor also agreed with the statement of the head of the Belarusian state on the need to strengthen cooperative ties. "You rightly noted that we have opportunities in the joint development of the radio-electronic industry. We have many competencies in the region in this direction, many enterprises (about 20) are working. Of course, here we could complement each other," said Alexander Gusev.

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