Business news

7 Jul 2023

Belarus’ deputy industry minister shares expectations from Innoprom expo

An archive photo

MINSK, 7 July (BelTA) – One of Russia’s biggest industry events - the International Industrial Fair Innoprom in Yekaterinburg – is just around the corner. This large-scale industry showcase event will be running from July 10 to 13. Belarus will take part in it as a partner country for the first time. Belarus’ Deputy Industry Minister Dmitry Kharitonchik told BelTA how many contracts are to be signed and what enterprises will represent the Industry Ministry of Belarus at the expo.

What will the enterprises of the Industry Ministry showcase?

The total area of the Belarusian exposition will exceed 3,000m2 and will feature about 50 enterprises of the Industry Ministry.

According to Dmitry Kharitonchik, the national exposition will include the stand “Industrial production and cooperation”. Six enterprises of the Industry Ministry will display their equipment on the area of more than 1,500m2 inside the Yekaterinburg-Expo exhibition center and on 21m2 outside the facility. In general, 21 full-scale models of equipment by MAZ, Amkodor, Gomselmash, Belkommunmash, MTZ will be on display.

In addition to that, 17 machine-tool enterprises will band together at a joint stand for the first time. The 315m2 stand will show 13 full-scale models of machine tools.

The joint stand of industrial enterprises will occupy 290m2. The Industry Ministry will be represented by more than 20 enterprises, including Mogilevliftmash, Kozlov Minsk Electrotechnical Plant, MMZ, BMZ, Integral, Vavilov MMZ, BATE and others.

BelAZ will have an individual stand on the area of 190m2 where it will display dump trucks that were made as part of Russia-Belarus integration projects.

“The Industry Ministry, together with the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BelCCI), has come up with the most optimal placement of stands of Belarusian participants. Information about the integration projects will also be on display,” said Dmitry Kharitonchik.

Innovative developments

At least five exhibits of the Industry Ministry enterprises can be regarded as innovative solutions. These are a new MAZ freight vehicle equipped with a more powerful Euro-6 class engine and a robotic gearbox, MTZ tractors (unmanned models, an exclusive caterpillar tractor for waterlogged soils), a high-speed Mogilevliftmash elevator, a BelAZ-7558N mining dump truck (mock-up model, a new 90-tonne truck with a gas piston engine running on liquefied natural gas).

Dmitry Kharitonchik also mentioned the 16GS25SU1A CNC lathe model by Gomel Machine Tools and Assemblies Plant. “The innovative component of this lathe is the software installed by Belarus’ Tekhnikom, which makes it easier to operate the lathe,” the deputy minister explained.

Contracts and agreements

The deputy industry minister emphasized that an impressive package of documents is expected to be signed on the sidelines of the expo. In total, almost 60 documents worth about $180 million are being prepared for signing. The enterprises of the Industry Ministry account for the bulk of this amount; they are set to conclude at least 11 export contracts (agreements) worth $157.4 million.

In addition, at least 14 strategic agreements (memorandums, treaties) are to be penned at the expo.

Meetings and negotiations

The Industry Ministry delegation will be headed by Industry Minister Aleksandr Rogozhnik. He is scheduled to participate in Belarus-Russia intergovernmental negotiations, bilateral meetings with the heads of Russian regions and top managers of Russia’s industry giants.

Aleksandr Rogozhnik will also take part in the meeting of the EAEU Council on Industrial Policy, the main strategic session, the business forum “Industrial Dialogue: Russia - the Republic of Belarus” and the section “Machine tool industry as a priority of the common industrial policy of Belarus and Russia”.

Work is underway to prepare bilateral documents for signing and to finalize the program of official meetings of the Industry Ministry top officials in order to maximize the effectiveness of the expo for the two countries.

“The Industry Ministry is going to make the most of its participation in Innoprom. It views the expo as an opportunity to unlock the potential of industrial enterprises and strengthen interregional economic ties. I am sure that the forum will help establish new direct business contacts between Belarusian and Russian industrialists. In general, the documents to be signed at the forum will help step up cooperation, give a fresh impetus to trade and support cooperation projects between the leading enterprises of the two countries, which will be highly instrumental in promoting the technological sovereignty of Belarus and Russia,” Dmitry Kharitonchik concluded.

The International Industrial Exhibition Innoprom has been held in Yekaterinburg every year since 2010. It is the main industrial, trade and export event in Russia. This year the key theme of the expo is “Sustainable production: Strategies for renewal”. At the intellectual platform of the expo business owners and authorities will offer their solutions to overcome risks and threats.