May is symbolically connected with Victory over fascism. This year, May 9th was celebrated in Belarus as the 65th anniversary of the victorious end of the Great Patriotic War. The month of July was marked by Liberation and Independence. In July 1944, Minsk was liberated from the invaders, releasing long-suffering Belarus. Today, July 3rd is symbolically celebrated as Independence Day for the sovereign Republic of Belarus. After WWII, Belarus helped found the UN, honoured for its merits in the fight against fascism. Now, Belarus fully asserts its right to be a sovereign country and to command respect from its closest neighbours, and the whole world community. Sometimes, it has to prove this right, but feelings of honour and pride are especially accentuated during Independence Day celebrations. On the eve of the event, President Alexander Lukashenko gave an interview to CNN international TV channel, explaining Belarus’ foreign policy. The Future Relies on Intensive Development explores this topic.Today, many economic issues contain political elements. Just think of the formation of the Customs Union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan. The theme of ensuring parity for all sides within this integration structure has recently dominated the relations of our three states. Regardless of the ambiguous behaviour of some, the Customs Union was legally formalised at a meeting in Astana. The final nuances of the agreement are covered in Customs Union Enhances Business. We still need to assess the practical implementation of the Customs Union and its mutual benefits, so we’ll explore this topic further in the future.
As a rule, the country’s sovereignty is proven politically and economically. Belarus has proven its competiveness even in these difficult times of global crisis, showing its readiness to be included among global economic communities. Trading is Appropriate describes how Belarus is acce-lerating its movement to join the World Trade Organisation, as noted by observers after the recent visit of the WTO Working Party on the Accession of Belarus to Minsk. We should mention that the World Trade Organisation, headquartered in Geneva, currently unites 153 states and customs territories. Each should offer other members of the organisation favoured trade terms, since this is the essence of WTO membership. Accordingly, export-oriented Belarus is keen to join.
Belarusian industry primarily relies on innovation and, recently, surpassed itself with a 360 tonne heavy duty dump truck, produced by Zhodino’s machine builders. Situated near the capital, this company has survived troubled times to create models which are the envy of its rivals at international automobile fairs. It recently demonstrated the new truck at its testing ground. A third of the world’s heavy duty dump trucks originate from this firm, known for producing vehicles which surpass others in terms of their technical capabilities, reliability and value for money. The current model is a modernisation of those made previously and other leading enterprises in Belarus are using the same approach. Read 360 Tonnes: Who Can Offer More? to find out further details.
Traditionally, in summer, domestic agrarians are in the limelight. This year, Minsk organised the 20th International Belagro Exhibition — an agrarian forum uniting hundreds of participants from two dozen countries. Technical and technological agricultural innovations abounded. Stands were hosted by the National BelEXPO Exhibition Centre, and by the demonstrational venue of an agricultural enterprise, situated close to Minsk. The result was a celebration of the latest international experience in agro-industrial machine-building, showing ecologically clean products and alternative technologies. The event was also attended by representatives of agrarian ministries from around the world, proving that the solution of food problems is a burning issue for many countries today. According to High-Tech for Agrarians, Belarusian agricultural machine building firms presented one of the largest and most interesting expositions at Belagro. Some twenty years ago, our country only made tractors — from the great list of agricultural machinery; now, around 90 percent of domestic farming machinery is locally-manufactured.
Time flies by and brings many changes, but Belarus’ manufacturing quality and dedication to customer satisfaction remain constant. As ever, we invite you to travel with us, visiting interesting places and meeting fascinating people. Please join us on our journey.
BY Viktor Kharkov,magazine editor
Беларусь. Belarus
