The meeting focused on expanding supplies of Belarusian-made utility, agricultural, and commercial vehicles to the Sverdlovsk Region, as well as the prospects for joint projects in this part of Russia. Yuri Seliverstov told journalists that, first and foremost, they focused on the agreements Minsk and Yekaterinburg had reached earlier.
“It involves assembling AMKODOR front loaders here, and utilising our facilities to manufacture skid lifts in Belarus. There are a number of other areas of co-operation we are interested in, since both service and warranty support are essential for supplying engineering products, which requires extensive and detailed preparations. But our partners are working, co-operation, so I believe things will pick up even more speed soon,” Yuri Seliverstov stated.
The Belarusian diplomat spoke about the progress made in a joint project to supply Belarusian-made lift equipment to the Sverdlovsk Region, “Our colleagues are interested in Belarusian lifts, but something, let’s put it like this, is preventing us from reaching certain volumes and delivery schedules for the time being. And now we have secured the governor’s support, so that our colleagues [from the Sverdlovsk Region] will return to this matter and once again consider the possibilities for co-operation on their part.”
The Belarusian Ambassador to Russia noted the progressive growth in trade between Belarus and the Sverdlovsk Region, highlighting that trade volumes have been steadily increasing in recent years. However, he believes this is no reason to stop there, “Taking a critical view, five years ago trade volumes were higher. So we have something to aim for, and we need to look for ways to work together. The fact that Yekaterinburg is geographically distant from Belarus is not really a problem in today’s world. People here are familiar with our equipment and appreciate its quality and reliability. Our colleagues are ready to co-operate with us.”
Yuri Seliverstov and Denis Pasler also discussed a range of issues related to preparations for a visit by the Sverdlovsk Region delegation to Belarus at the meeting. In particular, the parties exchanged views on involving Belarusian designers in developing the Yekaterinburg metro.