Lukashenko met with Russian Primorsky Krai Governor, stating Belarus’ readiness to develop co-operation with Far East
The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has met with the Governor of Primorsky Krai, Oleg Kozhemyako, as part of the Russian delegation’s visit to the republic
“I am grateful not only for your visits to Belarus. I keep track of your statements in the media, and I see your support of Belarus and Belarusian-made products, your interest in Primorye in purchasing our goods,” Aleksandr Lukashenko addressed the Russian Governor. “To be honest, your statements, good positive reviews about our economy have a good echo with your colleagues in the Far East. We are always ready to develop co-operation with the Far East.”
At the same time, the Head of State stressed that the distance also has an impact, “It is rather not the distance, but the utilised capacity of the railways servicing this direction – Baikal-Amur and others in the eastern direction, since the centre of gravity of the Belarusian and Russian economies has shifted to the east. You are in demand more than ever, and that's good. It is true that the railways cannot cope with this flow (Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] told me about that during our last meeting in Moscow). We need to work together here to expand these bottlenecks.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko added that Belarus knows well what the Primorsky Krai needs, “It is good that you will visit the BELAGRO exhibition, our city of Gomel, see the best enterprises. If something is needed, we will join and work in this direction. Tell us what is required. You are not a stranger to us! [We are open] to specific issues, if any, and those in the military-industrial complex... There are absolutely no closed topics! We are not afraid of anyone. Everything we have is at your service. We have always helped, responded to your requests. This will continue in the future.”
In turn, Mr. Kozhemyako confirmed that the Primorsky Krai delegation traditionally participates in the BELAGRO International Specialised Exhibition, “We liaise in the engineering direction, in agriculture and woodworking. Agreements and contracts are already being concluded. We see that this co-operation is producing mutually beneficial results: i.e. since 2019, our trade turnover has increased six-fold.”
The trade turnover between the Republic of Belarus and the Primorsky Krai of Russia amounted to $56.3m in 2022 – exceeding the 2021 figures by 71.7 percent. The parties are implementing a number of joint projects aimed at the supply of Belarusian equipment to the Far Eastern region, as well as production co-operation. In Primorsky Krai, work is underway to create a single centre for demonstration, sale and maintenance of Belarusian-made equipment. In turn, Belarusian specialists are involved in a number of construction projects on the territory of this Russian region.
