Business news

MINSK, 13 November (BelTA) – Russia's Kaliningrad will purchase buses made by Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ trademark) ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Governor of Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast Anton Alikhanov told the media following a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, BelTA has learned.

“The city of Kaliningrad intends to buy more buses ahead of the FIFA World Cup as there is still a certain lack, although we have already purchased 100 buses. I think that we need to make use of the labor resources of Belarus. You have very good drivers. We need to invite Belarusian colleagues as we will need help during the World Cup, during peak loads,” Anton Alikhanov said.

According to the governor, the entire range of issues of bilateral cooperation was discussed during a meeting with the Belarusian president. “First of all, we talked about the development of agriculture. Many projects are already underway with the participation of the Belarusian colleagues, including in industrial horticulture. During the meeting we discussed land reclamation. We asked our colleagues to join the projects which we will implement as early as next year, because there are certain difficulties. We would like to enlist some help,” he said.

The meeting also examined the prospects of cooperation in the transport and logistics sectors. In particular, the parties touched upon the issues related to the increased use of the Kaliningrad seaport infrastructure and the development of air travel.

The parties discussed the collaboration in the healthcare industry as the Russian region is planning to build a cancer center. “Belarus has huge traditions and experience in this field. We have some deficit of doctors. We agreed that we will develop a special program of training of our specialists in Belarus,” Anton Alikhanov said.