Lukashenko: Belarus ready to participate in modernisation of key sectors of the Russian economy
The uniqueness of Belarus-Russia partnership lies in the fact that from the very beginning the system of interaction between our countries was built on the basis of self-sufficiency of economic ties and provision of the two states’ technological sovereignty. This advantage must be used to the maximum, which we are doing – as stated by President Aleksandr Lukashenko, speaking at the plenary session of the 10th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia via video conference
The Belarusian leader drew attention to how often meetings at the level of heads of state have been held recently and how quickly all issues are worked out, “In fact, all the necessary decisions have been made by the presidents. The regions that directly have resources – human, material, and financial – have no obstacles to co-operation. A few years ago, we sometimes sorted things out, proved something to each other. However, in the current conditions, it is no longer necessary to agitate anyone for the development of partnership: neither in Russia, nor in Belarus. The responsibility of local authorities, business representatives, and our society has noticeably increased. And it worked. Last year, mutual trade in goods and services exceeded the record level of $50bn.”
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, the fact that 16 visits of the heads of Russian regions to Belarus took place this year alone is very indicative.
The members of the Belarusian Government, headed by the Prime Minister, the leaders of our regions hold many fruitful talks with the heads of the Russian regions, and are clearly working on the implementation of the agreements reached at the highest level.
“Of course, the basis of co-operation is economy. This is how it should be, because the economy is the basis of any social processes,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
He stressed that commercial contracts – worth almost $5bn – were signed following the results of the regional forums held earlier, “Yes, the figures of trade statistics are encouraging, yet it’s too early to rest on the laurels. I’m sure we can do more. It’s necessary to increase the competitiveness of the two countries by deepening industrial co-operation, to settle issues of specialisation, import substitution, primarily in microelectronics and other high-tech industries. It’s also necessary to maximise interregional trade and develop transport and logistics corridors, find additional drivers for integration processes. Belarus is ready to participate in the modernisation of key sectors of the Russian economy and the establishment of joint ventures. We have a lot of interesting and highly-demanded (by the Russian regions) proposals in the field of agriculture, construction, machine building, woodworking, equipment supplies, the formation of a component base, food and light industry, space exploration, and pharmaceuticals.”
