Belarus' exporters urged to monetize high level of political cooperation with Russia

Belarusian exporters should make the most of the highest level of political cooperation with the Russian Federation, Ambassador of Belarus to Russia Dmitry Krutoi said at the 14th meeting of the interdepartmental working group to monitor supplies to Russia, BelTA learned from the press service of the diplomatic mission.

The meeting was chaired by the ambassador of Belarus to Russia and was attended by the leadership of Belarusian government agencies and organizations, exporting enterprises, and heads of embassy branches in Russian regions.

“Dmitry Krutoi noted that the export to Russia lost momentum despite the favorable foreign economic environment. The reasons are the high base effect and the devaluation of the Russian ruble. The ambassador called on enterprises and ministries to take it up a notch to expand the range and volumes of supplies, to explore new and innovative areas of interaction, to actively engage in programs of import substitution, re-industrialization, infrastructure upgrade, in other words, to monetize as much as possible the highest level of political cooperation between the two countries. Dmitry Krutoi warned against formalism and bureaucracy while holding meetings of working groups with Russian regions and arranging mutual visits,” the press service said.

The meeting examined the reasons for the decline in exports of a number of key items (cheese, furniture, fiberboard, etc.) across a number of Russian regions.

“The designated government bodies and exporting enterprises were instructed on how to address outstanding issues. In particular, the ambassador invited those interested to use the Russia International Exhibition and Forum (that will be running at VDNKh in Moscow from November to April) to meet with partners, including from remote areas,” the press service noted.

Dmitry Krutoi also highly praised the effective work of the Mogilev Oblast Executive Committee and its chairman to establish contacts with the Far Eastern regions of Russia.