Russia to broaden cooperation with Belarus in aviation industry - Manturov
MINSK. May 12 (Interfax) - Russia plans to expand cooperation with Belarusian aircraft factories, Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, head of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, said after a meeting with Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko in Minsk on Friday.
"We have traditionally placed orders for aviation components in Belarus, but now we are considering the possibility of expanding projects for the production of samples for local aviation. We have agreed to develop this program and approve it in the next two months," Manturov said, as quoted by the BelTA state agency.
Issues of industrial cooperation as a whole were discussed at the meeting, Manturov said. "These are almost all industries: high-tech, energy and transport engineering, chemical complex, pharmaceuticals. We also touched on the topic of microelectronics, because it is important to develop joint projects in the context of the technological sovereignty of our countries," he said.
In addition, it is planned to approve uniform trade rules within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. "We also discussed bringing domestic trade within the Union State to a unified format; we will continue to cooperate in this area and bring existing agreements into line with the law," Manturov said.
In mid-April, President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting with the head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov said that Belarus was ready to launch the production of components for Russian aircraft. Lukashenko noted that the Kazan Aviation Plant has returned to the mass production of the Tu-214 passenger aircraft, and Belarus plans to launch the production of a number of components at the remaining production facilities.
Earlier, the head of the Belarusian Embassy branch in Kazan, Viktor Shchetko, said that the Minsk Civil Aviation Plant N407 and the Kazan Gorbunov Aviation Plant, a branch of Tupolev would sign a roadmap for the project to manufacture components for the Tu-204/214.
"For the Tu-204 project, about 700 imported products have been identified that the Belarusian side is ready to replace with domestically produced variants and for which our Russian colleagues have, in fact, already certified and checked with the relevant enterprises, who have given their consent to production and further finishing production to be done Russia," the diplomat said.
"Models of Russian aircraft have been identified on which work is currently underway. This is the MS-21, for which approximately 1,350 products and components have been proposed by Russian colleagues for production in Belarus. A portfolio of orders has been formed for the Il-76 and Il-78 aircraft of various modifications, which is comprised of over 2,100 products for Belarusian enterprises," he said.
Anti-Russian sanctions imposed by Western countries after the start of the military operation in Ukraine included a ban on the supply of civil aircraft and spare parts to Russia, as well as their maintenance and insurance. Because western sanctions have restricted deliveries of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, Russia plans to start mass production of the Tu-214.
