Belarusian vehicles, diesel generators get kudos from Russian governor

Belarus is one of the most important trade and economic partners for Russia's Primorsky Krai. The region intends to increase purchases of Belarusian equipment in the future, Primorsky Krai Governor Oleg Kozhemyako said at a meeting with Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk on 25 March, BelTA has learned.

The head of the region thanked the Belarusian president for the opportunity to meet and hailed the good level of contacts between the parties.

Oleg Kozhemyako's previous visit to Minsk took place just six months ago. "During this short period, Belarus and Primorsky Krai were able to achieve new successes in the development of bilateral relations, in the implementation of projects and the agreements that were formalized in the protocol [of the the previous visit]," he said.

For example, in 2020 the Russian region purchased 177 units of various Belarusian equipment (91 units in 2019). As the governor noted, the purchase of utility vehicles shortly before the end of 2020 was very timely. The region received about 35 units, with the contract concluded in November and the vehicles delivered in early December. It was used as part of the response to the icy storm that hit the region. According to Oleg Kozhemyako, the region is looking to buy 400 units of Belarusian utility vehicles in 2021-2022.

In addition, Primorsky Krai intends to purchase about 20 diesel generators of various modifications for its social institutions. This decision was made after local specialists made sure of the high quality of Belarusian diesel generators. "When 120,000 people were left without power due to damage to high-voltage lines we scrambled to use various equipment. We had six Belarusian diesel generators in the reserve stocks. They worked fine, even though they sat idle for five years," said Oleg Kozhemyako.

According to the governor, the pace of mutual trade is encouraging too. In January-February 2021 the trade already exceeded $2 million.

Belarus, according to him, is one of the most important partners of Primorsky Krai, accounting for 46% of the region's trade with CIS countries.