Mordovia’s Head on reserves for expanding trade turnover with Belarus
Pharmaceuticals, joint co-operation and profitable projects for joint market entry are those areas in which there is great prospect for an even more significant growth in trade relations between Belarus and Mordovia, Head of Mordovia Artem Zdunov told reporters, when commenting on the results of his meeting with the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko
Artem Zdunov stated that Belarus and Mordovia have rethought their relationships in the trade-economic sphere, “We looked at our reserves and began to communicate more closely at the level of enterprise directors, chief engineers and designers with Belarusian enterprises. We have a lot of joint projects, and today we talked not only that the growth has begun (which is a positive trend), but we also talked about the reserves for this growth – which we have not done yet.”
One of the proposals from the Mordovian side is to increase exports of optical fibre to Belarus, especially since the republic is nowadays the only manufacturer of these products within the EAEU.
“This is an issue of the Union State economic security, because it is a strategic resource. Another growth reserve is pharmaceuticals. We are one of the largest manufacturers of antibiotic substances. This is a biotechnological direction, covering the most serious scientific research. A similar centre is being formed in Belarus. Why not work together to expand the market?” stressed the Head of Mordovia.
The development of joint co-operation is another promising direction. Artem Zdunov stated that there are many partnership projects, but there are few co-operative ties that would enable us to jointly conquer the market. At one time, a successful joint project was implemented with the Minsk Automobile Works (MAZ). Mordovia’s Head is convinced that the time has come to update work in this direction.
According to Artem Zdunov, the delegation has already visited the Minsk Tractor Works and the Minsk Automobile Works, outlining the principal areas of interaction, “The automotive component base in Mordovia is very strong. We could work together to expand our sales markets, especially across exclusive areas.”
Moreover, a new flight from Saransk to Minsk and back was also under discussion.
Summing up, the Head of Mordovia stressed that Belarus always remains a reliable partner for the republic, “We will always focus on the fact that we need to work with a certain degree of project insurance, switching to key partners. Belarus is definitely our key partner. We understand that the risks here are minimal in any situation.”
