Chelyabinsk Oblast invites Belarus to participate in technopark project

Russia’s Chelyabinsk Oblast offers Belarusian businessmen to participate in the project to set up a technopark, the head of the industry department at the Ministry of Industry and Minerals of Chelyabinsk Oblast Boris Bardin said at the opening of the business forum "Russia-Belarus" with the participation of representatives of the business communities of Chelyabinsk and Smolensk Oblasts. The event was hosted by the Minsk Office of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, BelTA has learned.

According to Boris Bardin, the relations between Belarus and Chelyabinsk Oblast are at a sufficiently high level, but they must develop further and be more effective. Chelyabinsk invites Belarusian businessmen to participate in the project to set up an industrial park in the region. “We are going to set up the technopark to bring together businessmen from different areas of activity, and we invite Belarusian enterprises to take part in the project and assemble the products which can be sold not only in Russia but also to China," said Boris Bardin.

Agriculture, processing of agricultural products, education, culture and tourism are also promising avenues of cooperation between Belarus and Chelyabinsk Oblast, Boris Bardin believes. "We need to strengthen the interaction in the metallurgical industry, bother ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, and in mechanical engineering. We should develop cooperation ties,” said the specialist.

For his part, Minister of Industry and Minerals of Chelyabinsk Oblast Alexei Bobrakov noted that enterprises of the region cooperate actively with partners from Belarus. “We would like to see this cooperation to grow more fruitful, and the bilateral trade to increase steadily,” said the minister.

In January-March 2014 the trade between Belarus and Chelyabinsk Oblast amounted to $65.9 million, down 30.9% from the same period of 2013. Belarusian exports reached $31.7 million, down 24.4%; import from Chelyabinsk Oblast totaled $34.3 million, down 35.8%. Belarus had a $ 2.6 million deficit in the trade with Chelyabinsk Oblast.