Belarusian, Russian deputy PMs agree on soonest signing of intergovernmental agreement on joint industrial policy

MINSK. Jan 17 (Interfax) - Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Pyotr Parkhomchik and his Russian counterpart Denis Manturov have agreed on the soonest signing of an intergovernmental agreement on the joint industrial policy, the Belarusian embassy to Russia said.

"It was agreed at the meeting that the sides would sign an intergovernmental agreement on the joint industrial policy in the near future," the embassy said following the Parkhomchik-Manturov meeting in Moscow on January 16.

"The primary topic of the meeting was industrial cooperation between the two countries, and approaches to the implementation of prospective import-substitution projects, aimed at manufacturing civilian and military goods, were clarified. [...] The stances of the sides on the production and sales of tractors and combine harvesters on the Union State market were analyzed. Emphasis was put on the interaction between economic entities of both countries in light and chemical industries, and specific areas for the enlargement of bilateral trade were named," it said.

"The trade turnover between Belarus and Russia reached $50 billion last year for the first time ever [it grew 24.7% from 2021]," the embassy said.

The Belarusian government approved a draft agreement with the Russian government on a joint industrial policy at the end of November 2022. It was reported earlier that Minsk was hoping to sign the agreement by the end of 2022.

Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Dmitry Krutoi said some time ago that the signing of those documents "would give Russian companies access to the Belarusian market, while Belarusian companies would access the Russian market, first and foremost, federal and regional subsidizing programs."