PM opines on key areas of cooperation for Belarus, Russia’s Novosibirsk Oblast
Andrei Travnikov and Roman Golovchenko
MINSK, 27 April (BelTA) — Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko spoke about the key areas of cooperation between Belarus and Russia’s Novosibirsk Oblast as he met with Governor of Novosibirsk Oblast Andrei Travnikov on 27 April, BelTA has learned.
Speaking about the main areas of cooperation between Belarus and Novosibirsk Oblast, Roman Golovchenko highlighted industrial cooperation. “A number of Belarusian and Novosibirsk enterprises have long-standing cooperation and partnership relations. They should be supported and further developed. A good example is cooperation between the world’s largest manufacturer of haul trucks BelAZ and Novosibirsk’s Sibelectroprivod. Last year alone, our purchases from the Novosibirsk plant more than doubled to reach $50 million,” he said.
According to Roman Golovchenko, cooperation in microelectronics was discussed during his visit to the Novosibirsk Semiconductor Devices Plant Vostok. The prime minister also mentioned BKM Siberia, the joint venture to overhaul and modernize the tram fleet. “The enterprise has been operating since 2017, successfully implementing projects in the interests of Novosibirsk, and has a serious track record of reaching out to other regions of the Russian Federation. I think that the management of the company needs to think not only about trams, but also to develop a line of other products,” the Belarusian head of government said.
The government of Novosibirsk Oblast pays a lot of attention to the renewal of the passenger transport fleet. “There is a lot of work ahead. We are ready to offer a wide range of modern trolleybuses and electric buses to Novosibirsk Oblast. There are also prospects for increasing the supply of agricultural, special-purpose, utilities and freight vehicles. In 2022, the total supplies of all these categories amounted to about $90 million. This year, our goal is to do better than that,” Roman Golovchenko said.
Cooperation in the agro-industrial sector is also an important area. “In 2022 the trade in food products and agricultural raw materials amounted to $83 million. Exports and imports are almost balanced. We believe it is important to continue increasing mutual supplies, and the Belarusian goods fair held in Novosibirsk contributes to it. Given the high level of development of dairy farming in the region, a project has been launched to supply modern Belarusian equipment for dairy farms. A working meeting has already been held on the issue, and we see great potential for such cooperation,” the prime minister said.
According to Roman Golovchenko, science is also an important area of cooperation. “The famous Novosibirsk Academgorodok is an example of the most important scientific and educational centers of Russia. The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and other scientific and innovative organizations of our country have been working with the Russian Academy of Sciences for a long time. I believe we should move forward to implement our achievements in the real economy,” he noted.
Working on the economic agenda, we should not forget about the humanitarian sector, the prime minister stressed. “It is nice to note that Novosibirsk is now hosting the Days of the Belarusian Capital, the City of Minsk. Such events contribute to the development of business and cultural exchange. The event is popular with residents of Novosibirsk,” Roman Golovchenko said. “Belarus and Russia’s Novosibirsk Oblast are long-standing partners. I am confident that this meeting will help us find ways to expand cooperation. We should set ourselves ambitious and high targets and solve the tasks to achieve them at all levels.”