Minnikhanov: ‘I always visit Belarus with keen interest, see many positive changes’
MINSK, 13 April (BelTA) – I always visit Belarus with keen interest, see many positive changes, Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov said during a meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk on 13 April, BelTA has learned.
The head of the region thanked the Belarusian head of state for the opportunity to meet and the hospitality. «We are sincerely glad to visit your beautiful country, the capital city,» he said and took a particular note of clean streets and in general disipline and high production standards at enterprises, in agriculture. “These show in the fields, in towns and villages.” According to him, in this sense, Belarus is a good, positive example for Tatarstan, which still has a lot to do. «There are still things we need to catch on,» he said.
The head of the Russian region expressed special gratitude to the presidents of Belarus and Russia for their support at the regional level.
«We always visit Minsk with great interest. We see how the country is developing, despite the unprecedented sanctions pressure of the West. A lot of positive changes are happening. This has an impact on the quality of people’s lives. It is a huge merit of yours and of the government, their active work,» Rustam Minnikhanov emphasized.
Speaking about bilateral cooperation with Belarus, he noted that the agenda is packed. The delegation, which is now visiting Belarus, includes representatives of more than 20 companies. All in all, about 335 companies of Tatarstan have partners in Belarus. Over the past two years the trade has consistently exceeded $1 billion, but Belarus believes that it is time to step up and aim for $2 billion. «Our colleagues say: a billion is not enough. Roman Aleksandrovich [Golovchenko, Prime Minister of Belarus] urges to aim for the mark of $2 billion,” Rustam Minnikhanov said.
