Amur Region offers Belarus three priority areas for work
Creation of a multi-brand centre, participation in the international territory of advanced development and logistics projects with China – these and other projects may be beneficial for Belarus and the Amur Region, Governor of this Russian region Vasily Orlov noted during a meeting with President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko
Vasily Orlov primarily thanked the Head of State for the opportunity to meet, recalling how in 2022 Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin jointly visited the Vostochny Cosmodrome, “We took advantage of your invitation to visit Belarus. We have a large delegation: several deputy chairs of the regional government, regional ministers, business representatives, representatives of higher educational institutions. In other words, we have come to work here as fully as possible.”
The Russian governor recalled that an agreement on co-operation between the Amur Region and Belarus has been in force since the early 2000s. Bilateral trade is also growing.
“However, at the same time, we believe that there is still room for growth. Therefore, we have several proposals that we would like to discuss. We have already got acquainted with your team, we have worked very effectively and we will continue to discuss current issues today,” Vasily Orlov said.
The Russian side outlined three topics, the development of which will be beneficial for Belarus and the Amur Region. According to the Russian governor, Belarusian-made machinery (both agricultural and industrial) is in great demand in the region, e.g., 40 percent of tractors and 25 percent of harvesters used in agriculture were manufactured in Belarus.
“We consider it advisable to offer our Belarusian friends to create a multi-brand centre for such equipment in the Amur Region. It could also cover neighbouring regions,” Vasily Orlov noted.
According to the official, there are 1.2 million hectares of acreage in the region, and therefore there is a serious task to increase production. In this regard, the Russian side is also ready to work with Belarusian enterprises in terms of deep processing of agricultural products, in the extractive industry. Partners are also open to proposals for the creation of JVs in the field of woodworking.
“We are ready to provide all necessary support measures from the region. We also have territories of advanced development, providing benefits for investors. The Russian Government has a document at its final stage on the creation of international territories of advanced development. Here I would like to move on to the second important topic: interaction with the People’s Republic of China,” Vasily Orlov said, adding that the Amur Region has the longest common state border with China — 1,200km. Moreover, the Russian region and China annually hold about 200 joint events in the socio-cultural sphere.
According to the Russian governor, transport and logistics routes have also been built.
“In particular, we are promoting a project – the so-called Amur corridor – which consists of the Blagoveshchensk-Heihe automobile bridge over the Amur River (already built and functioning) with the development of a bridge zone. It also has the status of a territory of advanced development, and we hope that it will become an international territory of advanced development. Therefore, we also invite Belarusian partners and investors to be present in this sea corridor,” Vasily Orlov concluded.
