MOGILEV, 10 May (BelTA) - Cooperation with Mogilev Oblast will become a priority of the foreign policy of Jiangsu Province, Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province Zhang Lei said during a meeting with Chairman of the Mogilev Oblast Executive Committee Vladimir Domanevsky on 9 May, BelTA has learned.
Mr. Zhang Lei said that it was his first visit to Belarus and Mogilev Oblast. He said he was impressed by the warm welcome and hospitality, beautiful nature and national cuisine. The business contacts and negotiations that took place during the visit showed that there is an enormous potential for the development of interregional cooperation in various fields.
"We need to start working, as soon as possible, with representatives of the business communities of both countries to find common ground. It is time we get concrete results in the form of serious cooperation projects between enterprises, and new joint ventures. As we are going to sign an agreement on establishing twin-town relations on 11 May Mogilev Oblast will become the priority of the foreign policy of Jiangsu Province,” said Mr Zhang Lei.
Established in 2004, the relations between Mogilev Oblast and China have already yielded the results in the form of steadily growing bilateral trade, said Vladimir Domanevsky.
However, according to the Governor, the potential for cooperation is far from being exhausted. He sees great prospects for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of mechanical engineering and instrument making, woodworking, production of elevators, processing of agricultural products and a number of other areas.
“It is symbolic that the visit of the Chinese delegation to Mogilev Oblast coincided with the remarkable day – the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory. This only means one thing, that in all our endeavors we are meant to achieve victory and success,” Vladimir Domanevsky said.
In January-February 2015 the People's Republic of China accounted for 5.8% of the foreign trade of Mogilev Oblast with countries outside the CIS, or $6.1 million in monetary terms. Mogilev Oblast seeks to boost investment cooperation with China. For example, with the use of loans of the Export-Import Bank of China, the region is implementing two major investment projects: the construction of the second technological line to manufacture dry cement at the Belarusian Cement Plant and construction of a cement production line with a capacity of 1.8 million tonnes per year at Krichevcementnoshifer. Chinese and Mogilev enterprises signed a number of cooperation agreements. In addition, Chinese provinces and Mogilev Oblast actively cooperate in education, culture, and in agriculture.