Republic

Belarus praised as one of most important partners of Tatarstan

MOSCOW, 16 January (BelTA) - Belarus is one of the most important partners for Tatarstan, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov said as he met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Russia Andrei Kobyakov, BelTA learnt from the press service of the President of Tatarstan. Rustam Minnikhanov praised the Belarusian-Tatarstan cooperation in the field of petrochemistry, engineering, agriculture, light industry. He thanked Belarus for assistance in the construction of the Tatneft petrol stations. Rustam Minnikhanov called the assembly production of Minsk tractors in Tatarstan as the example for Russian companies. “We had a very meaningful conversation about the whole spectrum of relations between Belarus and the Republic of Tatarstan. We agreed that trade and economic cooperation serves as then basis for relations in other areas,” Andrei Kobyakov told reporters after the meeting. In his words, the trade between Belarus and Tatarstan got back to the pre-crisis level in 2011. Over the eleven months last year it totaled $1.1 billion. The trade and economic cooperation went through a number of qualitative changes. “We have embarked on joint investment projects,” Andrei Kobyakov said. In particular, Belarus opened a company in Tatarstan to assemble tractors. In 2011 the company produced almost 8,000 vehicles that were sold in Tatarstan and other Russian regions. The company plans to manufacture 10,000 Minsk tractors in 2012. “A joint assembly of combine harvesters has been set up together with Tatagroleasing in Tatarstan. Today we have discussed an opportunity to supply Belarusian consumer goods to Tatarstan,” Andrei Kobyakov said. According to the Ambassador, there are good projects in the educational and cultural sectors. “The range is wide, and we are ready to sign certain agreements,” Andrei Kobyakov added.

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