Lukashenko: Belarus, like no other, keen to combine transport and logistics potentials of EAEU and SCO
Belarus, with its export-oriented economy, is more interested than anyone else in combining the transport and logistics potentials of the EAEU and the SCO – as stated by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, in an exclusive interview with the Kazinform news agency
The Head of State noted that creating a stable transport and logistics framework of the Eurasian continent with routes providing the necessary capacity is one of the key integration tasks: both in the EAEU and in the SCO.
“Actually, without competitive logistics, there can be no effective system of trade relations in the region,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
The scale of this task is clearly illustrated by the specific figures given by the Belarusian leader, “The territory of the SCO member states covers more than 35 million sq.m, with a total population of about 3.5 billion people (almost half of the global population) and a combined GDP of $25.5 trillion. Looking at the EAEU, the unhindered movement of goods must be ensured within the framework of trade turnover worth hundreds of billions of US Dollars. In 2023 alone, this figure totalled almost $800bn. The SCO accounts for about 40 percent of the exports of the EAEU members. It’s obvious that the dynamics of mutual penetration of goods produced in the EAEU and SCO countries will steadily grow.”
As a promising area of joint work, the Head of State mentioned the synchronisation of the development of international transport corridors such as North-South, East-West, and their integration with the Belt and Road Initiative of our Chinese friends.
“We put forward this initiative once, and a lot has already been done to implement it. In particular, during the 1st SCO Transport Forum in Tashkent in 2023, memorandums were signed to create two new international transport corridors: Belarus-Russia-Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan and Russia-Caspian Sea-Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.
According to the Belarusian leader, changes in international trade, the reorientation of the EAEU economies to the growing markets of Asia and the Middle East have led to fundamental changes in the transport sector and a complete transformation of logistics chains.
“When Lithuania and Poland unilaterally illegally blocked Belarus’ access to Baltic ports in 2020, we promptly rebuilt our logistics to Russian ports, began to develop transport links, including infrastructure modernisation, with our EAEU partners and China. As people say, there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped. Today, we are increasing the volume of transportation, while the Lithuanian and Polish leadership annually counts losses worth hundreds of millions of US Dollars,” the Head of State stated.
“We also face the tasks to digitise trade routes and create a clear customs transit system that will be reliably insured against political risks,” the President of Belarus added.
