Belarus, St. Petersburg urged to find new cooperation opportunities

“Saint Petersburg is a strategic partner for our country. The northern capital of Russia has always been linked with Belarus by strong cultural, humanitarian, trade and economic ties. I am personally involved in this process and am the co-chair of the Business Cooperation Council between Belarus and Saint Petersburg. There are many reasons why this cooperation is important for Belarus. For example, Belarus' trade with Saint Petersburg exceeds the country's trade with a number of European states. Saint Petersburg is ranked 4th or 5th in the list of Russian regions trading with Belarus. We have good dynamics. After a setback in 2020, we picked up pace and grew our trade by 13.5% in 11 months,” the Belarusian head of government said. According to him, in January-November 2021, the trade between Belarus and Saint Petersburg exceeded $1.5 billion. “This is fairly big for our country, yet we need to look for new points of growth and move on,” Roman Golovchenko emphasized.

The prime minister shared his vision of where to look for new points of growth and how to give an additional boost to mutually beneficial cooperation between Belarus and Saint Petersburg. “Of course, the supply of modern passenger transport comes first. We know that a large-scale reform in the field of public transport is underway in Saint Petersburg, because public transport is not just the face of any city, but also one of important factors determining people's attitude to authorities and the municipal administration in particular. We know that as early as 2022, about 3,000 modern buses will hit the streets of Saint Petersburg, and you are absolutely right in your focus on environmentally friendly transport running on gas fuel. We are grateful to Saint Petersburg for choosing Minsk Automobile Plant as one of the major participants in this program. Our company is to supply about 900 comfortable buses to Saint Petersburg. Another domestic manufacturer, Belkommunmash, will ship trolleybuses, almost 100 vehicles with increased autonomous run,” the premier said. According to him, Belarus can also sell more trams to the Russian city. “We are negotiating the entire product assortment and plan to take part in future tenders, including tenders for tram cars,” the head of government added.

Construction has always been a traditionally important area of cooperation, the prime minister noted. "We are glad that the projects to build the Belarusian quarter in St. Petersburg and the St. Petersburg quarter in Minsk finally got off the ground. The first phase of the project to construct the quarter in Minsk is to be commissioned in 2022. We are falling behind the schedule a bit, but I think that the builders will gird their loins and make up for the lag in the schedule. The construction of social facilities by Belarusian organizations is a traditional form of cooperation with Russian partners. Now two such projects are in progress in St. Petersburg - a kindergarten and a secondary school. Financing is provided by the Belarusian side, and the work is carried out jointly by Belarusian and Russian construction organizations. We need to scale up this experience," Roman Golovchenko emphasized.

The prime minister also highlighted industrial cooperation between Belarus and Saint Petersburg. "We have some achievements to celebrate on this front. One of them is the assembly production of the Mogilevliftmash manufacturer of elevators. Last year, we supplied about 700 kits for the Saint Petersburg facility. We understand that competition is tough, but we think that the Belarusian-Russian elevator will find its niche in the market," he added. The Belarusian head of government also welcomed the successful investment cooperation and also ties in science and humanitarian affairs.

Saint Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov concurred that all these areas are important for cooperation. He recalled that an agreement was signed between Belarus and Saint Petersburg for the period from 2021 to 2023. "I believe that it should be adjusted and re-signed for the period from 2022 to 2026. This is very important for us," he stressed.

Speaking about the trade, the governor expressed confidence that it will continue to increase. He also commented on the cooperation with Belarus in terms of the supply of passenger transport and expressed interest in purchasing electric buses. "A Belarus-made electric bus is already working in Saint Petersburg. It has proved its worth. We are planning an electric bus pool for 400 vehicles and we invite you to take part in the tender," Alexander Beglov added.