The goal is to ramp up trade turnover to half a billion dollars

The Head of State, Aleksandr Lukashenko, met with the Governor of Russia’s Orel Region, Andrei Klychkov

belta

The President warmly welcomed the head of the Russian region in Belarus, noting that this was his first visit to our country. The Belarusian leader expressed hope that thanks to the geographical proximity, it will be possible to establish more intensive co-operation. If necessary, logistics opportunities will be found for this purpose.
Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded that in early March, the Belarusian Government appointed Chairman of the Brest Regional Executive Committee Yuri Shuleiko as the new person assigned to Orel Region — a pro-active, goal-oriented person who is able to do a lot to develop interaction with the Russian region. 
Speaking about trade and economic collaboration, the Head of State proposed to take the volume of mutual trade turnover for 2023 as a reference point. That figure was very impressive — a quarter of a billion dollars.  

“I think we can reach $500m in the near future, within the next three years. This is quite achievable. You will have to work hard for that, though,” the President emphasised. “Traditionally strong economic sectors of Orel Region, such as agriculture, microelectronics, and the investment sector can act as driving forces of growth. We have a high level of development in all these areas. Therefore, the alignment is possible and we will do everything to achieve the maximum effect.” 

The agenda of the Orel Region delegation’s visit to Belarus envisages meetings at the Government level, tours to major domestic enterprises, and exchange of experience in regional development. Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that there were no closed topics in relations with the Russian region, and that Belarus was ready to provide its products and was open for closer co-operation. Given the development level of Orel Region, Belarus is also willing to adopt the best practices in certain industries. Moreover, the parties already have experience in bilateral co-operation — a plan of measures for 2024-2026 has been signed to implement the Agreement on Co-operation between the Government of Orel Region and the Gomel Regional Executive Committee. 
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, the Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation deserves special mention — it is a unique project for the production of compound feeds, amino acids and premixes, “We also produce a wide range of veterinary medicines. We have developed highly productive technologies in pedigree animal breeding, poultry farming, dairy production and many other industries. If our products are in demand in your region, we will be glad.” 
Another promising area for co-operation is construction. The President proposed to build a landmark turnkey facility in Orel Region, “We can also offer services in the field of capital repairs, design, engineering surveys, supply of modern building materials and elevators, assistance in gasification of regions and much more of what you need.” 
The Head of State stressed that this is a far-from-complete list of areas, on which Belarus and Orel Region can work more efficiently, “We are ready to co-ordinate and collaborate with you in all areas at any time. We can work with you more efficiently, intensively and show other regions how much small Belarus can do for huge Russia.”
At the same time, the President drew attention to the challenging situation unfolding in Russia’s Orel Region, 
“They will not let you live and work peacefully in the near future, either — there is nothing to count on. Therefore, we have to solve the tasks of protecting civilians and critical infrastructure in the most difficult conditions. If there is anything we can help you with in this regard, you can approach us and we will be pleased to help,” the Belarusian leader pointed out.
Addressing the Belarusian leader, Andrei Klychkov called the creation of joint ventures an important point in the development of co-operation. “I completely support the task that you outlined: to double our mutual trade, enabling us to develop more actively, regardless of any sanctions. We finished last year with growth for all socio-economic indicators. Our industry is working stably and last year’s agricultural results also saw an increase of 113 percent against 2022. In monetary terms, the region produced 182,000 Russian Roubles of products per each resident — 3.2 times more than the Russian average figure. In 2023, 5 million tonnes of grains, legumes and oilseeds were harvested, while the crop yield exceeded 50 centners per hectare,” he underlined.

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by