A MEETING BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS ALEKSANDR LUKASHENKO AND THE HEAD OF MORDOVIA ARTYOM ZDUNOV TOOK PLACE IN MINSK

19/10/2023

On October 19, a meeting between the President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko and the Head of Mordovia Artyom Zdunov took place at the Palace of Independence.

Last year, the parties achieved a record trade turnover of almost $90 million. But already by the end of eight months of 2023 they significantly exceeded it – the growth rate was almost 300%, or $115.7 million.

The parties traditionally actively cooperate in mechanical engineering and metallurgy, chemistry and petrochemistry, electronics, and agriculture. Almost 15% of Belarus' fiber needs are also provided by imports from Mordovia.

Business entities of the Republic of Belarus, in turn, export a wide range of products of mechanical engineering, machine tools, woodworking, chemical and light industry, agricultural raw materials and food products.

“But now is the right time for the development of industrial cooperation, primarily joint import-substituting production, promising production,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Moreover, as I am informed, Mordovia is among the leaders in Russia in terms of the share of innovative products in the volume of industrial production.”

The leading innovative areas of Mordovia – optical fiber and pharmaceuticals – are of great interest to Belarus.

The President noted the interest of the Belarusian side in cooperation with the RM Rail company in the development of foundry production and the production of equipment for the chemical industry.

“I consider it very useful to exchange experience in the field of organic farming, modern agricultural technologies and processing of agricultural products, selection work and breeding,” the President continued. “We could also expand cooperation on the supply of agricultural products and food.”

The time has come to actively develop interaction across the entire spectrum of humanitarian cooperation: science and education, culture and art, twinning relations, sports and tourism.

“It is very important for us that your visit to Belarus is filled with concrete agreements. We are ready for this,” A. Lukashenko emphasized.

There are serious reserves for further growth in the number of joint projects. This is, among other things, an increase in the supply of optical fiber to the Republic of Belarus.  “We are the only manufacturer of optical fiber in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. We would like to see our optical fiber used on a larger scale in the Republic of Belarus. This is a matter of the general economic security of our allied states. This is a strategic resource,” Artyom Zdunov emphasized.

The second important area is cooperation in the field of pharmaceuticals. “We are one of the largest manufacturers of substances for antibiotics, and we are developing biotechnologies. This is not just the production of medicines, but serious scientific research. A similar center is being formed in the Republic of Belarus - why not work together to expand this area,” the Head of Mordovia said.

A very important issue is the development of industrial cooperation ties. “We have many projects, but they are partnerships. About 60 of our enterprises work with the Republic of Belarus, but there are few cooperative ties, that is, those projects when we conquer the market together. At one time, we made chassis for MAZ and did assembly production, then we sold the products together and received economic benefits. We want to return to this issue.”

Artyom Zdunov especially emphasized that the Government of the region is aimed at the most substantive work to expand cooperation with the strategic partner of our country - the Republic of Belarus.