Opinions & Interviews

SOCHI, 18 September (BelTA) – Russia is ready for the tightest industrial cooperation with Belarus. President of Russia Vladimir Putin made the statement in his speech during the second Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia in Sochi on 18 September, BelTA has learned.

According to Vladimir Putin, tight industrial cooperation will allow raising the competitive ability of Belarus and Russia, attracting investments, and will favorably influence the living standards of the nations on the whole.

The President of Russia noted that Russia and Belarus had managed to create a solid cooperation structure. He noted that Russians know well the high quality of Belarusian products while the regions have accumulated experience of manufacturing cooperation.

“Belarus is our strategic partner and the closest ally,” stressed the President of Russia. “Our interaction is versatile and consistent.”

Vladimir Putin remarked that Belarusian-Russian trade had been affected by negative external economic factors. Yet he stressed that the figures have dropped only in U.S. dollar terms while in physical terms the commodity flow remains unchanged on the whole.