Azerbaijan is one of the few countries with which goods turnover not only remained stable last year but actually grew, despite conditions of global crisis. The President assured Yaqub Eyyubov of Minsk’s readiness to develop co-operation with Baku in all directions, as has been proven by actions. Azerbaijan has various joint ventures producing Belarusian goods, including tractors, lorries and lifts. Localisation of resources and components has reached almost half share and Mr. Lukashenko has promised his Azerbaijani colleague, Ilham Aliyev, that necessary technologies will eventually be fully transferred.
Minsk hopes for more such interaction and joint production, to which Baku is showing interest. In addition to sharing economic interests, we are connected by almost identical views on the international agenda and offer mutual support on political issues.
Contacts with the Russian Federation are evident from figures, since Belarus was visited by more than 30 Russian delegations last year, from across the regions. Intensity of interaction is ever growing, promoting Union State development.
The dynamics of co-operation are positive, including with the Kursk Region, where mutual goods turnover rose by 10 percent last year, to reach $250 million. The head of the region has now made five official visits to Belarus, with the first producing a modest goal of just $100 million.
Chatting to the Governor of the Kursk Region, Alexander Mikhailov, the President noted that current trade in goods covers a wide spectrum of products used by the public and manufacturers. He offered, “Thinking about our long term relations, Belarusian and Kursk enterprises should be linked more closely, developing a uniform industrial chain. We already know how to do so and have many joint ventures working successfully.”
Minsk considers that there are many directions for possible co-operation and Mr. Mikhailov agreed, noting that dynamics of bilateral trade are sure to develop further.
By Vasily Kharitonov
