Lukashenko: Belarus's cooperation potential with Tatarstan is colossal

The potential for cooperation between Belarus and Tatarstan is enormous. This was stated by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting with the Head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.

"Sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, I am glad to welcome you to Belarus, to Minsk. You are true friends of the Belarusian people. I have been observing the development of your region with great interest for a long time. The successes are impressive and inspire us to work even more actively with Kazan," Alexander Lukashenko emphasized. "Moreover, we have developed very business-like, productive relations, and the potential of our ties is enormous."

The Head of State admitted that he was always amazed by how similar the land of Tatarstan was to Belarus. "If I didn't know that you were flying over Tatarstan, I would think that it was exactly like the nature of our Belarus," he said.

Recently, a Belarusian delegation led by Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko visited Tatarstan. The parties identified specific areas of cooperation.

About 50% of the trade turnover between Minsk and Kazan is currently provided by petrochemicals. "Therefore, the growth in trade volumes in 2022 by more than 5%, to a billion dollars, is a good indicator. But it does not fully reflect our capabilities," the President said. "Our petrochemicals are just one area. Therefore, you did the right thing by not limiting yourselves to petrochemicals when developing a cooperation plan."

Alexander Lukashenko stressed that the parties must, at all costs, expand the range of mutual supplies, increase cooperation, and create joint ventures. "If you have any interests, we will definitely work in this direction," the President assured. "The sphere of information technologies and the digital economy opens up great opportunities. You know our capabilities. If we cooperate here together with you, we will also achieve a good effect for the future."

The Head of State also noted the high level of humanitarian cooperation between Belarus and Tatarstan. According to him, the high level of interest of the residents of Tatarstan in the events within the framework of the Days of Belarusian Culture in 2022 confirms the importance of cultural exchanges, the preservation of the traditions of our peoples, and, of course, the common historical memory. "We will gladly host the reciprocal Days of Culture of your republic in our country," stated Alexander Lukashenko.

The President also thanked the Head of Tatarstan for the warm welcome and support of the Belarusian team in Kazan at the international "Friendship Games" last year. "We will not remain in debt," he emphasized.

The Head of State concluded that the list of areas in which the parties can cooperate has no limits. Alexander Lukashenko is confident that the current visit of the Tatarstan delegation will be very productive and will significantly exceed today's trade figures. "Moreover, our opportunities are colossal," the Belarusian leader summarized.