Belarus and Russia’s Omsk Region will co-operate with focus on import substitution

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, met with Governor of Russia’s Omsk Region Vitaly Khotsenko

belta

The Head of State noted that less than a week passed since the presidential elections in Russia, and the results were known. The Belarusian leader congratulated the head of the Russian region and all governors of Russia in his person on the result, emphasising that without their participation there would have been no result achieved by the Russian authorities and President Putin during the recent election. 
“Yet, as time shows, under no circumstances must we relax. They will try to bend us over, shake us, put us on our knees. We talked about this with President Putin on the eve of the presidential election. They will not give us a quiet life. The developments will be more and more complicated, as, unfortunately, the latest events in Moscow Region have shown,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.
The President drew attention to the fact that at this difficult time, governors also bear a special burden of responsibility, including ensuring security. This is evidenced by the tragic events in Moscow Region.
“We have been in touch with President Putin these days. We have worked very hard. You know the result. This is precisely the evidence of how two presidents and intelligence agencies should work in our Union State,” the Head of State stressed.
The President noted that the head of the Russian region is probably well acquainted with Belarus, with its history, famous people, flagships of industry, and the level of agricultural development.
“We can start our work without any delay. Your arrival is a clear indication that we can accomplish a lot. We regard your arrival as an interest in our country and in the development of the future between the two states,” the Belarusian leader stressed. 
It is known that the annual volume of bilateral trade between Belarus and Omsk Region is at least $110m. 
“This indicator is fairly not big, and we need to considerably improve it. There are plenty of reserves for that,” the President gave his assessment.
Speaking about the specific points of growth in trade and economic co-operation, Aleksandr Lukashenko first of all focused on Belarus’ capabilities for collaboration in the field of agriculture.
Omsk Region has achieved significant success in the agricultural sector in recent years and is one of the leading regions in the production of agricultural products in the Siberian Federal District. The region is also one of the leaders in Russia in flax cultivation. 
“It is only fitting that we should work together in this area, because, as you know, we pay great attention to agriculture in Belarus,” the President noted. According to the Head of State, the attention will not weaken over time, because flax is one of the national symbols for Belarus and is depicted on the country’s coat of arms. 
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that Belarus has every opportunity to meet the needs of Omsk Region in modern and reliable flax harvesting equipment. This fully applies to other brands of Belarusian machine building — tractors, combine harvesters, which are well known in Russia.
The President said that he was informed about the joint work carried out by the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and Omsk Agricultural Research Centre in the field of studying, preserving and using plant genetic resources. Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed, “I am convinced that our scientists have something to work on. The main thing is that it should not be research for the sake of research. The economy should benefit from their results every year. Moreover, we increase funding for these purposes every year within the framework of the Union State. I fully support such co-operation and believe that we are able to expand the range of crop variety testing.” 
The President called import substitution, including in agriculture, one of the promising areas of co-operation with Russian regions. 

belta

Aleksandr Lukashenko is convinced that apart from industrial collaboration, trade and investment, it is important for Belarus and Omsk Region to expand co-operation in the humanitarian sphere — in culture, education, and sports. The President believes that in this regard, joint work aimed to preserve the historical truth and memory of the Great Patriotic War should become a special topic, “Many natives of your land took part in the defeat of the enemy, died and were buried in Belarus. We carry out a lot of practical work on documentation and perpetuation of their memory. We invite scientists and researchers from your region to join this important mission.”
During the meeting, the Governor of Omsk Region spoke in favour of creating a multi-brand centre of Belarusian equipment and Belarus’ trading house in Omsk. Vitaly Khotsenko emphasised that Russian President Vladimir Putin always directs Russian regions to liaise with Belarus, “Therefore, we try to work out all directions as much as possible. Last year, Belarus was ranked fourth among our partners in the economy after Kazakhstan, China, and Türkiye.” 
The Governor of Omsk Region said that during a recent visit to the region by Ambassador of Belarus to Russia Dmitry Krutoi, an agreement was reached to co-operate in all areas of the economy, “There is an interesting project related to the creation of a multi-brand centre for all Belarusian machinery in Omsk. There is an investor ready to do this. We would ask you, Aleksandr Grigorievich, to help us so that it is done in the same style.”
According to the Russian governor, at the meeting with Belarus’ Ambassador, the possibility of creating a Belarusian trading house in Omsk was also discussed, “We have selected the best sites and premises in the city centre. Therefore, if you give such an instruction, we would like to create a trading house of Belarus in Omsk. We boast a very convenient location — 600 km to the Urals, 600 km to Novosibirsk, and Kazakhstan is situated nearby. We can occupy a large niche with Belarusian goods.” 

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by