Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 31 January (BelTA) – I am satisfied with the positive momentum in Belarus-Georgia trade, Belarus’ Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said as he met with Georgian First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance Dimitri Kumsishvili on 31 January, BelTA has learned.

“We view Georgia as one of the most important partners in the Caucasus. We will make every effort from our part to ensure that our trade, economic, humanitarian, and other relations develop in a smooth and gradual way,” Andrei Kobyakov noted. “We have a wide scope of interaction: industry, agriculture, petrochemistry, pharmaceutics, and humanitarian cooperation. Our bilateral trade maintains a good momentum and will surpass $100 million this year. The task of the heads of state is to reach $200 million, so we are somewhere in the middle, but we have been demonstrating good dynamics,” he added.

The PM emphasized the importance of the current meeting in light of the upcoming visit of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to Georgia. “We suppose that this visit will be meaningful, constructive and, basically, momentous for the further movement forward in our bilateral relations,” Andrei Kobyakov remarked.

He expressed hope that the Georgian partners have appreciated “Swiss trains at Belarusian prices”, referring to the supplies of Stadler trains to Georgia. “I hope you liked them. We can offer freight and agricultural vehicles, petrochemicals. This is what we think man be in demand on your market. We believe that the co-implementation of large projects opens up an opportunity for the further development of our relations,” the official stated.

In his words, Belarus knows that Georgia is planning on a large-scale modernization of its housing and utilities sector. The two countries have set up a joint venture to produce elevators. “It has become operational and even won a tender in Kazreti. We believe, however, that this is only the beginning. We have mentioned that the breakeven point for this company is around 250 units a year,” the PM said.

According to Andrei Kobyakov, the work is underway to bottle Belarusian and Georgian alcoholic drinks at Georgian and Belarusian companies. He also outlined good prospects for agricultural cooperation. “There is an interest in setting up farm animal breeding centers,” he underlined.

The head of government pointed to Georgia’s interest in Belarusian rescue vehicles. “We offer not only the vehicles but also the technology to use them so that you get a product to deal with the problems which, unfortunately, do arise sometimes. On the one hand, what we did together in Borjomi Gorge last year was a tough job. On the other hand, it showed the capacities of Belarusian-made vehicles. We are ready to offer relevant vehicles on competitive terms with a good financial mechanism and train specialists to use them,” Andrei Kobyakov reassured.

Speaking about humanitarian projects, he stressed that the Georgian holiday Tbilisoba is quite popular in Minsk. Last year, Georgia hosted the Days of Culture of Belarus. “Belarus is always interested in tourism development. Many Belarusian tourists have been to Batumi and rated it very high. Other Belarusians follow them as a result,” the official added.

In general, the PM highlighted the good groundwork laid for the successful work of the intergovernmental Belarus-Georgia commission on economic cooperation due to hold a meeting in Minsk on 31 January. “We invite you to take part in a serious meaningful dialogue,” he summarized.

Dimitri Kumsishvili, in turn, thanked Andrei Kobyakov for the meeting. “First of all, I want to stress the invaluable contribution of your president who gave an impetus to our bilateral relations during his visit to Georgia some years ago. The intergovernmental commission has been very effective. This lays the basis for greater cooperation,” he stated.