Head of Russia's Mordovia names reserves in trade with Belarus
14:00, 19 October
Photo: BelTA
Head of Russia's Mordovia Artyom Zdunov told the media about the reserves in trade and economic cooperation following his meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk on 19 October, BelTA has learned.
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Speaking about his recent meeting with the Belarusian head of state, Artyom Zdunov explained: “We have substantially reconsidered our relations in the trade and economic sector and taken a look at the reserves we have. We have been communicating closer with Belarus at the level of directors, chief designers and engineers of our enterprises. We have a lot of joint projects.”
The parties also talked about the positive trends (the trade tripled in January-August 2023, even compared to the record-high volumes of trade last year). However, the focus was on reserves for further growth, he said.
One of the areas where it is possible to increase interaction, Artyom Zdunov considers the production of fiber optics. “As the only fiber optic manufacturer in the EAEU, we would like Belarus to use fiber optics on a larger scale. This is quite possible. This is a matter of the overall economic security of our Union State. It is a strategic resource,” the head of the region said.
He also views pharmaceuticals to be another promising area of cooperation. “We are one of the largest producers of substances for antibiotics. This is a biotechnological area, not just drug production, but large-scale scientific research. Belarus is also developing its scientific center [BNBC and the development of a biotechnological cluster]. Why not work together to expand our market?” Artyom Zdunov asked a rhetorical question.
Industrial cooperation is another important sector where interaction should be strengthened, the head of Mordovia emphasized. “We have many projects [with Belarus], but they are partnership ones. About 60 enterprises work with Belarus. There are very few cooperative ties to develop the market together. Although at one time Minsk Automobile Plant [MAZ trademark] had its production facilities on our territory, and we used chassis, has assembly production. We sold the products together and received economic benefits. We want to revisit this issue,” he said. This topic was also discussed the day before with the management of MAZ and MTZ.
