MOSCOW, 1 October (BelTA) - Belarus has various mechanisms at its disposal to promote its economic cooperation with ASEAN countries, Anatoly Pavlovich, the head of the directorate of foreign economic activity of the Belarusian Industry Ministry, told media, BelTA has learned.
“We have different mechanisms and we have the experience in this kind of markets. We have been present in the Vietnamese market for a long time. We operate truck assembly plants there. Our offers are varied. We are busy modernizing our industries, developing business plans for the 2020-2030, and therefore our country needs investment. We have concrete proposals regarding the manufactures we want to develop, and we are ready to make these proposals to the ASEAN countries,” Anatoly Pavlovich said.
According to Anatoly Pavlovich, in addition to the supply of traditional equipment Belarusian enterprises can offer special-purpose models. Gomselmash can deliver combine harvester with a cutting width of 7 meters and also 4 meters. Lidselmash can offer grain drying complexes which dry not only grain but also rice and other crops which are grown in Asian countries, Anatoly Pavlovich informed.
He noted that Belarusian products are in demand in the ASEAN market which includes 10 states. Belarus supplies mining equipment, trucks and tractors. "But there are countries where we are not present yet,” he stated. “For example, these are Malaysia and Brunei. Our supplies to Philippines are quite limited. Indonesia is a big and complicated market. We are beginning to explore it, but there are a lot of specific difficulties. And, of course, the distance is big. It affects our ability to compete with China, South Korea and other countries. These are the additional challenges we face and we are trying to make some kind of unconventional steps to conquer our niche in the markets of the ASEAN countries,” Anatoly Pavlovich noted.
On 1 October Moscow hosted the seminar-presentation of economic and export potential of Belarus for ASEAN countries. The event held in the business and cultural center of the Belarusian Embassy in Russia was attended by heads of diplomatic missions of Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, and the heads of the Chambers of Commerce and economic services of the embassies of Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. The representatives of ASEAN countries got acquainted with the products and business offers of OAO MAZ, BelAZ, Minsk Tractor Works, Belspetsvneshtekhnika, and Belshina.