Belarus-Russia trade up by 11% in January-September

“Last year the trade between Belarus and Russia rose by 14%, which was a record-high growth. In January-September, our trade expanded by another 11%. This year we will do even better than last year. This means that the positive dynamics remain in place,” said Maxim Reshetnikov.

Growth in trade is fueled by investments. Thus, in H1 2023, Russian investments in the Belarusian economy grew by a third compared to last year. Investment allow funding cooperation projects. One of such projects is running in Brest: the production of kitchen appliances at the Gefest company.

A loan of over RUB100 billion granted to Belarus last year is used to launch new investment projects. Twenty projects worth RUB74 billion have already been approved. The business has already received more than RUB2.5 billion. These funds are used to scale up the production of component parts for combine harvesters, to upgrade Minsk Bearing Plant, and to produce dump trucks and construction equipment. “This means jobs for Belarus, and for Russia this serves to ensure regular supplies of components needed to make final products,” Maxim Reshetnikov said.

The joint meeting of the boards of Belarus' Economy Ministry and Russia's Ministry of Economic Development is taking place in Brest on 10 November. The Belarusian delegation is led by Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov. The meeting is attended by Brest Oblast Governor Yuri Shuleiko, Belarus' Sports and Tourism Minister Sergei Kovalchuk and State Secretary of the Belarus-Russia Union State Dmitry Mezentsev.