Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 15 November (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia’s Irkutsk Oblast have agreed to set up joint companies in various sectors, Irkutsk Oblast Governor Sergei Levchenko said after the meeting with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on 15 November, BelTA has learned.

According to the governor, all the previously made agreements to boost bilateral cooperation are being successfully implemented. The mutual trade has been on the rise, with constantly increasing supplies of Belarusian goods, including food products, to the market of the Russian region.

“We have already made the next step and agreed to continue our relations in terms of strengthening the work of joint ventures in Irkutsk Oblast, especially in areas most developed in the region. These include timber-processing, mechanical engineering, and aircraft manufacturing industries,” said Sergei Levchenko.

The parties also discussed joint work in the agro-industrial sector, where Belarus has considerable practical experience. “We reached agreements on agricultural machinery, facilities to process agricultural products, which we will jointly develop in Irkutsk Oblast,” the governor said.

According to him, an agreement was reached to set up a joint venture to manufacture timber machinery. “Forestry is the strongest industry in Irkutsk Oblast. We need equipment to log and process wood” the head of the Russian region said.

Sergei Levchenko noted that supplying raw materials does not make economic sense in view of the great geographical distance. This increases final prices and makes products less competitive. “We talked about setting up furniture production facilities using Belarusian technologies. We will recycle timber on site, and will aim for the Asian market,” the governor said.

As a successful example of cooperation, he cited the assembly plant Mogilevliftmash-Usolye, the products of which are in demand in the region. “We set up the company early this year. During such a short period of time it has assembled more than 350 elevators. Before the end of the year, it will add 30% more to these numbers. We agreed to expand this facility,” said Sergei Levchenko.