Lukashenko, Putin discuss two big joint projects
12:46, 26 September
photo;/Belta
Belarus and Russia are exploring the prospects to implement two large projects - the joint production and maintenance of aircraft, as well as the construction of a second railway line to Leningrad Oblast, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Leningrad Oblast Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko, BelTA reports.
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The Belarusian head of state noted that these two projects were discussed during a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin the day before.
According to the president of Belarus, they are scheduled to meet in Kyrgyzstan in mid-October (the CIS summit will be held in Bishkek) where they plan to discuss these projects in more detail.
“We discussed the joint production of small-capacity aircraft that are in great demand in the Russian Federation. According to the president of Russia, such aircraft can be operated from large airports and remote villages and regions, especially since they can land on the ground,” Aleksandr Lukashenko explained.
Belarus has the necessary competencies in this field, so the president of Russia proposed to make these aircraft together with the Belarusian side, as well as to expand the production of individual components for the IL-96 aircraft and to service them in Belarus.
“We can do this. Yet, this is a very big chunk of work,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The other project that the two leaders discussed was the construction of a second railway line from Belarus to St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast that will be used to transport large volumes of cargo to Russian ports from where cargo will be shipped to various parts of the world.
“You understand that this is very important for us. We are engaged in port infrastructure development there. But the railway is our bottleneck,” the Belarusian leader noted.
According to the president, these projects have already been discussed with Russian government agencies; a package of necessary documents and materials has been prepared and will be handed over to the Russian head of state.
