Russia's Novosibirsk mayor reveals cooperation plans with Minsk in transport sector

“We are on a working trip to Minsk. Tomorrow the Business Cooperation Council will convene – it is held once in two years. It is a good opportunity to compare notes, make plans, review progress to implement earlier plans. All this will be done at tomorrow's meeting. At our meetings these days we are having candid, interesting and meaningful conversations. They are important because no topics are off-limits for us. We have come not just to friends, but to like-minded people. Our relations are meaningful and rely on economic cooperation. Today we have had a landmark meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko. The Belarusian leader is held in a very high esteem in our city. We believe that you are very lucky with your leader,” said Anatoly Lokot.

According to him, the two cities are now running large-scale projects. “First of all, this pertains to cooperation in the transport sector. It's no secret that Novosibirsk residents travel by buses produced by MAZ. We have been running a joint venture BKM-Siberia for several years already. This company makes new trams. We have reached an agreement and I hope, tomorrow we will sign a document on assembling a new tram model in Novosibirsk. This is the outcome of the work of the Belarusian enterprise and several enterprises of Novosibirsk. We are expecting to get 120 trolleybuses, 34 trolleybuses with autonomous run. I must say that cooperation in transport will bring about some major changes. This means a lot for us; we are switching to a new comfortable and modern type of transport powered by environmentally friendly fuel, electricity, and gas engine fuel.

“During these meetings, we try to learn from Minsk how to manage road infrastructure, how to improve it, how to develop green zones. We have a lot to learn from you. We are not shy to admit that we want to adopt your best practices. This is of great importance for us,” added Anatoly Lokot.

Minsk and Novosibirsk have long maintained friendly relations, which is manifested in specific activities and joint projects. A twinning agreement was signed in 2012. A memorandum on promotion of twinning relations was penned during the visit of a Novosibirsk delegation led by Anatoly Lokot in 2022. In addition to that, an action plan to expand cooperation for 2023-2024 was signed by the municipal administrations of Minsk and Novosibirsk. The document covered cooperation in multiple areas.

During the visit, the Novosibirsk delegation said it would like to tour Minskmetroproekt as it has plans to implement a metro construction project in Novosibirsk.