Ambassador calls for fast, profitable Belarusian-Russian investment projects

Yuri Seliverstov has been vested with the authority of a deputy prime minister in charge of overseeing Belarus’ operation within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia and relations with Russia.

When asked whether new integration processes need to start within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia soon and when asked about the dynamics of fulfillment of the already signed agreements, Yuri Seliverstov noted: “In my opinion, the dynamics of realization of those projects that have already been signed is not very high. Due to a number of reasons. Including inflated expectations regarding our ability to promptly set up some manufacturing site, some cluster, and buy equipment. It is not as simple as it seemed to our colleagues.”

The Belarusian ambassador pointed out that it is also important for these projects to be able to pay their way among other things. He added that the Russian Federation had allocated about RUB105 billion for implementing investment projects. “In my opinion, the road we have travelled should be reevaluated in order to understand which road we should follow,” Yuri Seliverstov noted.

“As ordinary people, citizens, the larger the number of interesting joint projects is, the better it is for us. But it is necessary to understand that projects should have the capacity for fast implementation and for recouping the investments because money will be spent on them, including state funds. Even if we talk about loans, those need to be repaid. And if things do not go the right way later on, questions may be asked. This is why we have no right to experiment with state money and we have no time for it,” the ambassador said. Yuri Seliverstov added that prospects for further development are available. At the same time it is necessary to make serious conclusions from the work that has been done.

Yuri Seliverstov noted that it is important to pay attention not only to the signing of some contracts but more importantly to their fulfillment. “We need to understand that as they sign contracts with us, our partners hope to get Belarusian products, they turn down products from some other manufacturers from other countries. They may even turn down their own products. And they choose products on the basis of their convenience, profits, prices, quality, and so on,” the ambassador explained. “But all of that can be disregarded if we don’t deliver these products on time. Then they have no expensive or cheap products, no bad quality products or good quality ones. They will have no products at all. We must not fail our partners. This is why naturally it is necessary to keep an eye on these things to avoid any mishaps. Because our failure to honor commitments does not cast us in a good light. Nobody will forgive us that.” He stressed that fruitful cooperation also creates a good background for consequent interaction in other fields as well.

Speaking about Belarus-Russia trade turnover, Yuri Seliverstov noted that Belarus is intent on preserving its positions on the Russian market. “We definitely want to preserve them but we need to understand that it is not only about money but also about the amount of sold products, what products we sell over there, and what the added value is. Because we don’t intend to utilize a lot of resources in order to sell a lot of cheap tractors and earn very little as profit. We should sell good products, quality products to Russia with high profit margins. It will fuel the trade turnover. And the most interesting thing is that this trade turnover will generate more profits and revenues for the state budget,” he concluded.