PM suggests establishing joint engineering company with Siberia

Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich has suggested setting up a joint engineering company with the Siberian Federal District to bolster ties in science and engineering. The Premier made this statement as he met with a delegation of the Siberian Federal District led by Plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in this district Viktor Tolokonsky on 17 June, BelTA has learnt.

“Maybe, it would make sense to set up a foundation or a joint engineering company that will operate as a legal entity and have a small number of employees,” Mikhail Myasnikovich said.

The Belarusian Premier believes that this could help intensify cooperation in science and engineering between Belarus and the Siberian Federal District. The cooperation is gaining momentum, there are joint projects and agreements; however, the process should be more efficient. The suggested engineering company or foundation could serve this purpose. Mikhail Myasnikovich believes that it does not really matter who will hold the bigger share in the joint venture.

The Siberian Federal District in many ways shapes Belarus-Russia cooperation, the Premier noted. He illustrated his point with the following figures: in 2012 the trade with this federal district exceeded $1.4 billion, up by 4.4% over 2011. “It is not the limit, the potential is huge,” the Premier believes. The analysis of the contribution of each region of the Siberian Federal District has revealed that Tomsk Oblast, the Republic of Tuva and Altai Krai could make a bigger contribution to the trade. Mikhail Myasnikovich expressed regret that in the first quarter of 2013 the trade shrank by 30%. This pertains to the export of Belarusian trucks and a number of other machinery. In his regard, the Premier asked the Plenipotentiary of the Russian President to encourage Belarus’ partners in Russia to ramp up cooperation. The machines have been produced and are kept in warehouses; therefore the reduction of their exports causes a number of issues for Belarusian manufacturers.

Mikhail Myasnikovich mentioned successful cooperation between BelAZ and Kemerovo-based companies. The companies not only trade with BelAZ, but have also set up a joint venture to produce mining trucks.

The Premier noted that the creation of infrastructure for joint ventures will help resolve a number of other issues. “In this regard I have the following suggestion: let us focus on establishing joint ventures and generating additional added value; this will benefit everyone. This will promote understanding and mutual assistance,” he said.

This is the first visit of Viktor Tolokonsky to Belarus. He carefully prepared for the visit and eventually saw the things he heard so much about, in particular, Belarus’ economic and social achievements. In this regard, cooperation with Belarus is a very important development factor for the Siberian Federal District. He expressed confidence that heads of Siberian regions will get actively involved in fulfilling the related tasks. “We have been using Belarusian machinery and mechanical engineering products for a long time. These are farm machines, municipal vehicles, mining trucks, public transport. We operate them and we obviously need them,” Viktor Tolokonsky said. Indeed, the Kuznetsk Basin and other regions would like to set up joint ventures to produce machinery. The assembly production of some machines has already been launched. Viktor Tolokonsky admitted that both Russia and Belarus, just like the majority of other countries, are experiencing a period of recession. “We are buying less Belarusian machinery not because we are in doubts or have alternative suppliers, but because we have some issues in the coal mining industry and because the global export prices for raw materials have dropped,” he said.

In 2012 Belarus’ major exports to the Siberian Federal District included trucks, tires, tractors, truck tractors, liquefied gas, components and spare parts to vehicles and tractors. The export exceeded $1 billion, up by 4.4%. Belarus’ major imports from Siberia were coal, freight cars, synthetic rubber, engines and generators – a total of $425.3 million, up by 27.3%. In January-April 2013 the trade was estimated at $355.9 million, down by 29.3% compared to the same period last year. The export shrank by 34.3% to $241.5 million, the import reduced by 15.8% to $114.4 million.