Belarus’ PM revealed details of his report to President: situation with petroleum products is stable in domestic market

Answering questions from journalists following the results of his today’s report to the Head of State, Prime Minister Aleksandr Turchin commented on the functioning of the country's oil refining industry, the export diversification, and the strategy for the light industry development

Answering the question about what the Prime Minister had reported to the Head of State, Mr. Turchin noted that a number of issues related to the current state of the Belarusian economy had been raised, “The functioning of our oil processing industry was actually among the key points. We have completed six months of work with our Russian partners on the mid-term operating conditions of this industry. The achieved mutually beneficial terms allow our refineries to operate efficiently.”

According to the Prime Minister, the measures taken by the Government so far have already produced a significant economic effect for domestic enterprises, and it amounts to several hundred million Dollars. "I reported to the President that the situation with regard to the provision of petroleum products in the domestic market is stable, and there simply cannot be any shocks," he added.

Another question from journalists concerned the results of the meeting with the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade that had recently taken place, and whether they had been discussed during today’s report to the President. “Of course, we discussed that meeting. I reported to the Head of State on our meeting with Anton Alikhanov. We discussed the current state of our co-operation in the industrial sector and, of course, the prospects for its further development. The need to focus not only on the traditional products that we supply to the Russian market, but also on new goods that Russia needs and that we can produce, was emphasised,” the Prime Minister noted.

As an example, Mr. Turchin mentioned Amkodor-made logging machines, “Russia is extremely interested in them, so – together with the minister – we agreed to resolve the issue of their supply in the shortest possible time. This process is underway, of course, but we need to finalise it very quickly and begin to actively deliver these vehicles to the Russian market starting next year.”

The Prime Minister added that other issues, including problematic ones, had been discussed and resolved during the meeting with Russia’s Minister of Industry and Trade.

“A joint board meeting of Belarus’ Industry Ministry and Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade will be held at the end of the year. Our colleagues will discuss everything in detail once again, including the prospects for our co-operation. They will find ways to resolve certain problematic issues," Mr. Turchin said.