NEWS

Regions reveal Belarus-Russia cooperation potential

On October 7, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov and First Deputy Chairman of Government of the Russian Federation Igor Shuvalov met in the Brest oblast to discuss the issues of further development of the trade and economic relations between Belarus and Russia.

Andrei Kobyakov and Igor Shuvalov praised a high mutual interest in the development of the bilateral relations: in the offing Russia and Belarus intend to develop cooperation in different areas including high technologies. At the same time, Andrei Kobyakov underscored, visiting regions helps estimate the potential deeper, define mutual interests and priority cooperation areas of the two countries. The participants of the meeting visited the Tsvetotron Plant in the Brest oblast, the company that specializes in the production of electronic goods and makes part to the Integral research association.

In his turn, Igor Shuvalov said that one of the top priority cooperation areas can be the cooperation in the research area, between the economic agents, the maximum rejection of mediation. “In the course of the meeting in Minsk on October 6, our premiers spoke about the implementation of the joint “breakthrough” projects: these are new technologies in medicine, other areas, nanotechnologies, and our major task for the near future is to elaborate these projects,” Igor Shuvalov said. According to him, the Brest oblast has become the first object for a close attention. The next meeting will take place in one of the Russian regions in a month.

Belarus, Ukraine to set up joint ventures in engineering industry

In the near future Belarus and Ukraine intend to set up joint ventures in the engineering industry, First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko told reporters after the 15th session of the Belarus-Ukraine Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation in Kiev on October 7.

The First Vice-Premier in particular named a construction project of a passenger car plant in Gomel. The Belarusian side is interested in its implementation. According to Vladimir Semashko, it will help Belarus to renew the fleet of freight and passenger cars, demand for which annually makes up nearly 3.5 thousand.

The session also considered an issue of organizing jointly with the Bogdan Corporation of Ukraine a passenger bus assembly in the Gomel Motor-Car Repair Works.

A decision was taken to construct in Ukraine a plant on Belarus’ tractor assembly, with expanded production capacities up to 10-12 thousand tractors per year. A construction site has already been allotted by the Ukrainian side. The existing assembling of MTZ tractors in the Kiev Plant Leninskaya Kuznya produces only three or four thousand vehicles per year.

Vladimir Semashko underscored, these projects are absolutely real and there is a working schedule for their implementation with the fixed dates. Thus, in November 2008, the two sides are to develop a business plan on the construction of a tractor assembly works in Ukraine and organize a joint venture by the end of December. A financial scheme of the plant construction should be ready in Q1 2009.

First Vice Prime Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Alexander Turchinov emphasized the significance of developing integration processes and cooperation between Ukraine and Belarus in such important areas as the agricultural engineering industry. Deputy Head of the Ukrainian government expressed confidence that the number of the Belarusian-Ukrainian joint ventures will increase in the future, they will become powerful, competitive companies able to work on the domestic markets of Belarus and Ukraine as well as on the global market.

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