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Belarus’ transit potential not fully used
MINSK, 24 September (BelTA) – Belarus’ transit potential is not fully used. It is necessary to work out proposals to fix the situation with the export of transport services. Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Rumas made the statement during the session of the Council of Ministers’ Presidium held on 24 September to discuss transport industry work, BelTA has learned.
Sergei Rumas said: “It is obvious we do not fully use advantages of our country, its geographical position at a crossroads of transit traffic between the north and the south and between the west and the east. Apart from that, Belarus was one of the first countries to join China’s Belt and Road initiative and to become one of its nodes. At the same time development in that area proceeds at a slow pace.”
Apart from that, the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone and the multimodal industrial and logistics complex in the town of Bolbasovo should provide additional incentives for the development of transport business.
According to the prime minister, the country’s transport industry operates steadily on the whole, however, not all the targets set for 2019 have been hit. There are certain problems that need to be addressed in every branch of the transport industry. Freight traffic is declining and hence the gross added value from transport services is falling.
Transport services make up a considerable part of the export of services – 44%. At the same time the growth of transport services has been extremely low this year. In January-July the growth rate of the export of transport services totaled 101.2% while this year’s target has been set at 108%. “I would like to once again point out that export growth is one of the key tasks the head of state has entrusted the government with,” Sergei Rumas stressed.
The prime minister suggested discussing not only reasons behind the poor development of the transport industry during today’s session of the Council of Ministers’ Presidium but also proposals to fix the situation.
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